"I started a joke, that started the whole world ......" | Ireland v New Zealand.

I think we can reflect on the wisdom of thinking we could win a world cup with a 38 year out half and POM who was seriously questioned 4-5 years ago. The core of this team also came up short in successive champions cup finals. I'm no expert on the game but I could see we were sleep walking into the same mistakes. It was a no brainer for me to stick a wedge on NZ at 3.5 to 1 to win it out given the probability of getting to a final.

A team that bottled it wouldn't have gotten themselves back in the game at 13 nil down against the All Blacks in a World Cup quarter final and stayed in contention until the very end despite numerous sucker punches.

Bar incredible defence on the last line out Ireland would have likely won. They didn't bottle it.

Review the start of the game an some wayward passing and kicks from NZ, they were just as nervous. You should be nervous to an extent. We tokk a bit longer to quiet our nerves and had to chase. Chasing causes errors and we made some but so too did NZ.

Boiled down to NZ getting more of the luck for me. Whitelock could have gotten pinged for not releasing at the end, but wasn't. Another day he does and we go to the corner and maul over the lineout.

Didn't happen, and that as they say is sport at this level.

If we play out best rugby nobody can beat us.

we didnt play our best rugby.

NZ had to play their best rugby to beat us. They did and they did.

But they didn't do everything they could on the day. The simple fact is that they played worse yesterday than they did in recent games, and they most certainly didn't play to their full potential.

They had the dream scenario for that game. Great form, minimal injuries, one of NZ's weakest ever teams, and even had 2 opposition yellow cards thrown in as the cherry on top.

All that, and yet they played below their recent form and they made mistakes they don't usually make.

Doing everything right and losing is one thing, but making mistakes and underperforming when the pressure is on is quite another. And whether you lot like it or not, there is a 6 letter word that applies in that scenario.

I don't subscribe to that at all. Winning quarter finals is no big deal for NZ and we've never won a knock out match in the history of the RWC. The terrible start cost us big time.

You can mention luck but Sexton missed that penalty at such a crucial stage in the match.....we'd have taken the lead after the penalty try if he'd converted that and it wasn't the hardest kick in the world.

There was a lack of bottle early on though. The occasion and pressure got to them. Ireland were a mess with bad handling, lineouts etc until they were 13-0 down.

Unfortunately that was the losing of the game, it meant we were under pressure all the time, rushing things. Prime example near the end was Doris rushing towards that dropout and knocking on. Ireland did super to get their composure back for the majority of the match, but they were definitely jittery and nervous early on.

New Zealand after all the detractors, even in their own country, just had that superiority complex from minute 1.

NZ lost players because we put so much pressure on them.

Reducing that 80minute titanic battle with that much at stake involving that many players to an 'acceptsble term' is simply nonsense and displays a lack of understanding of sport by those who wish the argument to align so - most likely to accommodate their own inability to be able to analyse sport events. I wish the 'bottlers'/ 'chokers' name calling brigade would set up their own thread and go off worship Eamon Dunphy/Pat Spillane/ Colm O Rourke/ etc. - individuals who cover up their inability to analyse their sports with name calling on players and teams. 13 nil down and pulling the game back to a 1 point deficit within the same half is not the sign of bottlers or whatever that terms means.

Magnificent spectacle of sporting brilliance last night in a match (now that's a key term) involving two teams, where one has to lose. Unfortunately it was our team.

But we’ve had easier draws in other world cups and not made the most of them either. Yes it’s a pity that with probably our best team we got the (very) hard side but you have to beat the best to win the thing anyway. It reminded me of 2011 and the elation at beating Australia in the group, only to come out and completely freeze against wales.

You've more or less proven why people are complaining about the draw, how is it that we are in a position where a QF is far more competitive than a likely SF in not one but 2 cases in this RWC.

People don't seem to be able to distinguish between the extraordinary effort the team and management put into last night indeed the last four years and asking the simple questions of what happened and what shouldn't happen again etc

Ireland were gifted two of the softest tries you’ll ever see NZ concede. Last night was a massive opportunity, and our boys let it pass them by. They were handicapped by only having 6 in the pack, but overall, a bottle job.