The post mortem is well and truly up and running after Ireland's heart breaking loss to Argentina. It was Ireland's sixth quarter-final loss in six appearances, and will go down as a failure for the two-time Six Nations champions.
Most people will point to the huge injuries that Ireland suffered in the final two games, losing a third of the consensus first choice players - Paul O'Connell, Johnny Sexton, Peter O'Mahony, and Jared Payne - as well as losing Sean O'Brien through suspension.
Ireland and Munster legend Ronan O'Gara has a simple solution to this from his Irish Examiner column, get more Polynesians to declare for Ireland:
Laugh if you will, but we could do with a few of those Polynesian lads declaring for Ireland. The gap in terms of athleticism between northern Europeans and these wrecking balls is growing with every season.
He's got a point. Irish players aren't used to being so big and physical. It's almost a good thing that the media is losing the run of itself about the difference between the two hemispheres and the game needs to focus more on skill.
What do you think?
[Irish Examiner]
See Also: The International Media Reaction To Ireland's Devastating Loss To Argentina
See Also: Neil Francis Highlights Damning Stat About Ireland's Missed Tackles
Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
