It's a knockout: Southern hemisphere sides relish RWC format

You can say it came down to the bounce of a ball, the width of a post, being held up over the line but Ireland, once again, found themselves on the wrong side of the result when it really mattered.

That they were right in the game until the final play of a Rugby World Cup quarter-final – for the first time since 1991 – suggests that this was different but the tale of the tape will say it was the same dish served on a new plate.

That the team were still in the mix, in fact, made it tougher to swallow and over the next few months at least, harder to digest.

A good old-fashioned thrashing gives you some time to brace yourself. A last-gasp five-minute onslaught over almost 40 phases just makes you think they could do it. The hope that kills you.

To lose one quarter-final (like, for example, New Zealand in 2007) may be considered unfortunate but to lose eight may require deeper reflection.

Andy Farrell's men had beaten all top-tier nations over the last 16 months. Wins over France, South Africa (twice) and New Zealand (twice) were all high-octane and hard-fought.

A Six Nations Grand Slam is beautiful in its own right.

Going away to New Zealand and winning the series was described by Farrell as "the hardest thing in world rugby, by a country mile".

There’s no doubt that defeat hurt the All Blacks, a first three-Test home series loss since 1986, but it was not do-or-die. It likely didn’t have the same feel of jeopardy that the final Lions Test in 2017 did.

A team can lose one of its last three games in the Six Nations and still win the title.

What we have seen, both on Saturday night and last night was that when the stakes get raised, when a team has to win or go home, then it’s the southern hemisphere sides that are consistently able to