Coach Eddie O'Sullivan admitted he is at a loss to explain Ireland's lack of form ahead of Friday's all-important Pool D clash with France. The winners of the 2007 Triple Crown made hard work of their opening matches against modest World Cup entries Namibia (32-17) and Georgia (14-10).
After Argentina stunned the XV de France in the World Cup opener, O’Sullivan seemed to think it would boil down to points difference. But having only scraped the single bonus point from their two easier encounters, it seems if it’s down to points, it’s Ireland who will miss out.
With France then Argentina next on the cards, O’Sullivan can’t work out why they haven’t got it together.
"I don't have an answer for that. We've prepared for these games as we've prepared for any games, as we prepared for the Six Nations," he said.
"The work the lads have put in has been right up there, we've been as assiduous in our preparations as we have been for any test game.
"I wish I could tell you exactly why we're not firing on all cylinders at the moment and it is very frustrating for everybody, for the supporters in particular. And its equally frustrating for the players and ourselves here.
"It's not like we're not working on this, but it hasn't really clicked yet. I don’t have a magic answer to be honest with you."
France demolished Namibia on Sunday night, hammering down 13 tries compared to Ireland’s five.
The task is looking a tall one.
"I wouldn't say it's mission impossible, (but) it's certainly looking a hard job at the moment. It's a big mountain to climb," added O'Sullivan.
"We have to be more accurate, it's the accuracy that's letting us down."
O'Sullivan says that his team plays a high-risk game which, when it comes off, can be most effective but leaves them completely open when it doesn’t.
"We're trying to play a level of rugby that if it clicks for us, if it works for us we know it can be successful.
"We could make less mistakes against these teams and make life a bit easier for ourselves but we know that type of rugby isn't going to win you games against Argentina and France either.
"So it's a bit of a double-edged sword if you want to play the game that way."
"We've come to the World Cup and for some inexplicable reason, we can't put our finger on it, we're trying to play that type of game but effectively making a bad job of it and making life very difficult for ourselves.
"We could revert back to what other teams have done successfully in the tournament and just whack it up in the air and run after it and wait for errors from the opposition but I actually believe that won't get the big results you want in this competition."
"If you're trying to play high risk rugby and it doesn't come off, two things happen in the game: you pay a high price for doing that but it also does shake your confidence."
