Okay, let’s not get too down on ourselves.
Ireland had won 12 of their last 13 Tests before their blip against Wales.
Whatever tremors Irish fans may have felt have been rumbled further after England outfoxed and outfought them at Twickenham.
First things first, Ireland showed about 30% of what they are capable of, and that is being generous.
There were, however, some worrying performances by Joe Schmidt’s go-to guys.
Cian Healy and possibly Andrew Trimble aside (although he has not been a regular since his foot injuries), the team that lost 21-13 to England is Schmidt’s strongest. Some of his most trusted lieutenants let him down.
The fact that they let him down for the second game in a row is major cause for concern.
Here are three changes, we feel, that Schmidt should make before Ireland face Canada in their World Cup opener.
Iain Henderson for Devin Toner
The Ulster lock was a force of nature against Wales – one of the only positives to take from Ireland’s 16-10 defeat.
He was a lineout menace, constantly gained yards and was nigh on impossible to shift at the breakdown. His try – when he powered over from five yards out – was something Devin Toner is not consistently capable of.
Many will point to Toner’s lineout presence but Henderson was great in disrupting the Welsh and claiming clean ball. Toner had a tricky afternoon during the Irish set-piece.
More damning, however, was Toner’s tackling, or lack thereof.
The Leinster lock missed three of the seven tackles he attempted. As a ball-carrier, he was rarely spotted. Six possessions, four carries for zero metres gained.
Chris Henry for Peter O’Mahony or Sean O’Brien
You can’t mess with the Irish back row, many of you will argue.
It is exactly what the Welsh and English did over the last two matches.
The problem with Ireland’s simple but effective gameplan, under Schmidt, is that it is not too hard to disrupt if you are on your game.
England and now Wales have done it to Ireland four times in the past 18 months. Beat Ireland at the breakdown and you have a huge chance of winning the match.
Sean O’Brien was decent for Ireland but hasn’t truly shone since Ireland slashed Scotland in Murrayfield.
Peter O’Mahony’s primary job is the breakdown and he has been second best to the likes of Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw and Dan Lydiate over the past week.
Pick on form, not reputation
As highlighted above, nobody should feel they are bulletproof.
Schmidt will fire some rockets at his men in the Monday review and then afford his squad their final days off until, hopefully, October 31.
Ask any pundit or fan to name their Ireland team now and 95% of them will name 13 of the 15 players [left wing and a second row spot are up for grabs].
That is not exactly the best atmosphere for a squad to thrive in.
Fall short of Schmidt’s standards and suffer the consequences and the axe. To that end, Tommy Bowe’s place should not be considered safe.
Bowe had a shocker. Five missed tackles out of seven attempted, turned over too easily and possession spilled forward.
Dave Kearney on the right wing and Luke Fitzgerald/Simon Zebo on the left. That’s what form would suggest.
However, will reputation count?
We will see on September 19.
