Miserable morning ends emotional World Cup journey

WELL, RED means stop no matter where you are.

The long black cloud drifted in from the land of the long white cloud early this morning, as Wales beat Ireland 22-10 in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final. The reality of the exit will probably only seep through later, with the sad after-belches from your morning fry. A sad end to an emotional journey. That sounds right. Apart from the untimely ingestion of pork products all over the country it was a disappointing morning , and an unusual one.

At one point Ireland coach Declan Kidney actually looked frustrated, for instance. Where did it all go wrong? Wales enjoyed the proverbial flying start with a second-minute try from Shane Williams and kept the comfort of an early lead for the rest of the game.