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

They no more choked than France choked.

50/50 games at this level.

We have rarely if ever seen an Irish team at this level in a sport. Just like NZ, SA Fra etc we can on our day beat any of these teams and it's been like that for some time.

Important now that we stay there.

I'd say it is somewhat of a fluke because of the draw that we were in a 50/50 scenario so early in the tournament. I'd say France are saying the same thing this AM, while England and Argentina would not be.

The 'bottlers' shouting on the sidelines say the SA game didn't matter, but they ignore what SA put into that game and what we did. Had we lost that we turned the Scotland game into a 50/50 one. It counted and we won a fierce game against a team that may win it now.

Fine fine margins at this level and I think some are not used to this level of a sport.

I doubt that will happen but they do deserve some kind of recognition in my opinion. They are an outstanding group. Very unlucky on Friday

It's all still hard to stomach.

England and Argentina in the SFs despite their performances over the past couple of years and the relative level of opposition they've had to face in the tournament until now.

Knowing the potential this team had, and the opportunity that has been lost.

Fortune was not in our favour in this game, though there were areas of performance where Ireland let themselves down as well. That said, the margins were miniscule, and we were one special Jordie Barrett try-saving tackle away from being on the other side of this. How different the narrative would've been.

I know that but if we were in the other group are you saying we 100% be into a semi final?

History doesn't lie and we have an abysmal record against Argentina in RWCs losing to them 3 times. I'm not saying we would lose this time but the 2007 or 2015 teams weren't meant to lose to them either and see what happened. There were other circumstances that came into play but we tend to use all these excuses as reasons to justify why we didn't get the job done. Argentina played good enough on Saturday to beat Wales and Wales have always a good standing in RWCs. I am not 100% convinced we would to be honest and until we actually go away and do it.

Had NZ lost, they'd(the negative ninny's in NZ) be talking about the nervy start that NZ had, the wayward kicks and untypical badly thrown passes. They'd be lamenting not going for the corner when penalties were awarded etc.

The easy criticisms would be tirelessly made. Eaten bread is soon forgotten when you win.

If my aunt had you know whats she'd be my uncle.

Still bitching three days later.

Ireland were beaten fair and square. Get over it and move on.

Joke's on you man, I don't even have a girlfriend to perform badly in the sack with.

And in addition what a load of nonsense.

So we're not allowed to criticise the performances of highly paid international sports people any more?

All this "couldn't be prouder" bullshit you saw on the internet are just eeijits trying to get a clap on the back from other people on the internet saying "oh Aren't the irish great fans".

Mod: Warning.

in 2027, Ireland will play without Sexton, Aki, Lowe, Mahony, ...and the situation is even worse for South Africa, so i expect to see France and NZ potential winners for next RWC

Yes, it's almost a self fulfilling thing at this stage - we got eliminated at the quarter final stage again, therefore we must have "choked"....ignoring the fact that we might have been knocked out by the eventual 2023 winners and pushed them to within four points.

I agree. Doesn't particularly matter to me when it came, QF, SF or final. The fact is we were beaten on the day.

Richie Mo'unga was quite funny in one of the pressers before the match. He was asked about them being underdogs with the bookies, and he said it makes no difference to him, he's not betting on Paddy Power or any of those websites.

It would also have been a pity for the competition if NZ or SA went home in the quarter finals. I've a feeling both the semi-finals will be over after 20 minutes as contests.

The rugby commandments of TRC10

• Thou shalt not derive pleasure from international rugby outside World Cup knockout games
• Thou shalt not contribute to a feel-good factor based on results outside the world cup
• Thou shalt not acknowledge relative performance levels of teams outside the world cup
• Thou (as a player/team) shalt not acknowledge the support of your fans
• Thou shalt not get excited about players

What this type of attitude also neglects is that we kids to be inspired to play rugby. This fundamentally depends on appreciation and acknowledgment of achievements.