More questions than answers?

IT is little surprise that everybody connected with Irish rugby has been breathing a sigh of relief that the November series of international matches is finally at an end.

But are we to judge ourselves against the Samoas and Argentinas of this world or aspire to taking on the All Blacks and the Springboks with a realistic hope of victory? I certainly found it disconcerting to hear Jamie Heaslip reveal after Sunday’s game that “the lads are very happy with the win, there are a couple of tins in there and the boys got stuck in”.

To be fair, it was the end of a very demanding four weeks and they were entitled to a few beers. Hopefully, though, they’re not reading too much into defeating a very poor Pumas side in what was a desperately boring and unimaginative performance and instead were performing some self-examination at their failure to extend the bigger fish from South Africa and New Zealand.