IRELAND’S DEFEAT TO Japan over the weekend came as a surprise to most, bar maybe Japan, who had kept their cards close to their chest.

While it may not be the most fun to relive the game, Murray Kinsella and Eoin Toolan sat down today to work out exactly where it went wrong for Ireland on Saturday.

Angus Gardner may not have called every penalty completely accurately, but Ireland probably had more of a hand in their downfall than the Australian, argues Murray:

“Anybody that watched the game can probably agree that Ireland were hard done by with a couple of penalties. I think you can pick out loads of examples of Japan getting that as well.

“If it was slightly against Ireland, then listen, that’s what happens in rugby. They’ve been the beneficiaries many times. They cheat just as much as everyone. It is one of the reasons [for the loss] but for us to wholly and solely focus on that [would be wrong]. 

So what could Ireland have done better as a team to prevent the loss? 

Where do Ireland go from here? Can Ireland have any hope for a quarter-final after the weekend’s performance? All that, plus a look back at Wales’ win over Australia, are in today’s episode of The42 Rugby Weekly. 

You can listen to the full podcast below:

The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud

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