O'Sullivan - accentuating the positives.

By Gareth Duggan, PA Sport, Melbourne

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan and his team flew out of Australia contemplating a World Cup which he believes represents a fundamental shift in the way Irish rugby is played and perceived.

O'Sullivan has provided the tournament with some of its most memorable quotes off the field - his players provided "an ocean of urine" for drug testers and a half hour training session was "about as much use as a a chocolate fireguard" - but it was his team's efforts on it that have provided the lasting impact.

"We are beginning to identify a game that is synonymous with Irish rugby that has changed," said O'Sullivan on the eve of the team's departure.

"Irish rugby was drive it in the pack and when they were finished get a good out-half to put snow on the ball and get under it," he said.

"I would like to think that we have shrugged off that tag now."

He has every right to think that: centre Brian O'Driscoll scored two of the most intelligent tries at the World Cup, the backline defended and attacked with equal authority and in Ronan O'Gara and David Humphreys he has two of the most alert-minded fly-halves in the world.

"Ireland are playing a brand of rugby that is as good as anyone's in the world when we are in a position to set a platform to do it," he said.

Three wins from five games is a fair return for any team robbed by injury of players as important as Geordan Murphy, Alan Quinlan and Denis Hickie. The record looks even better when the nature of both the win over Argentina and the one-point loss to Australia are considered.

Only France, playing some quite breathtaking rugby, have managed to dominate O'Sullivan's men to any degree.

"The first thing we have to say is we came here with the goal of reaching the quarter-finals," he said.

"It was a big ask because of the pool we were in. We were aware that would define our World Cup, but in some ways it hasn't, which is strange.

"I think our performances against Argentina and Australia redefined our World Cup in that it gave us an expectation that we could actually get to the semi-finals."

"Having achieved your goal and in process raised your expectations beyond that, I think you have got to write that down as a very good World Cup for Ireland.

"It doesn't take away from the sick feeling after you lose a Test game, but you have to balance that against the fact we lost a Test game to a fantastic French side who were really in the zone."

Such was the attraction of Ireland as a team that fans flocked to their cause, turning stadiums into a Down Under echo of Lansdowne Road and covering city streets with a sea of green.

That sea is receding but the memories will remain, from Quinlan's heartbreaking exit through O'Driscoll's brilliant finishing against Australia and France to Keith Wood's emotional retirement.

And O'Sullivan was happy to provide a positive conclusion to the campaign.

"I would put it all together, draw a line underneath it and say: Good World Cup for Ireland."