Neil Francis: Ireland-Canada was like a bar room slugger against Jean-Claude Van Damme

If this had been a bar room brawl, Canada would have been represented by a slugger; a big, powerful guy, who would have eyed-up his opposition, reckoned that he could have landed a couple of decent shots, been brave enough to stay the course and wouldn't be ashamed of himself after the fight was over. Ireland, in this instance, would have been Jean-Claude Van Damme - same height, same weight, but just carrying a cutting edge and a mental clarity that his opposition just did not possess.