Outclassed, outmuscled, but gracious in defeat

THEY might have been beaten out of sight by a vastly superior side, but nothing really became the Irish World Cup squad quite like the manner of their leaving.

There wasn't a whinge or a complaint from anybody, just a ready acknowledgment that they were outclassed by a superior force. There were a few little jokes, a few deprecatory comments. We were good losers and let the cynics, for once, stay silent and not refer to how much practice we have at being just that.

Remember John Keats' poem about accepting those "twin imposters" of victory and defeat in equal measure? Well, Eddie O'Sullivan clearly does.