Rugby:Paul O'Connell has admitted Ireland have taken a step backwards following their 20-9 defeat to England on Saturday. The secondrow, who led the side in the absence of Brian O'Driscoll, said the situation was retrievable although there was much work to be done before the start of the World Cup.

Ireland ended England's Grand Slam hopes with a 24-8 win in Dublin earlier this year but they could repeat the performance at the Aviva Stadium, much to the disappointment of O'Connell.

"The game against England in March was a good game for us, but it came on the back of us having a few disappointing performances - and we're back in that place now," he said. "We know what the basics we need to get right for us to do well are, what we need to do to perform at a high level.

"This defeat puts us in a position where we will learn a lot and, if we can get things right, we won't be in a bad place. It's been a disappointing four weeks, but we're confident when we get to New Zealand we can perform."

Declan Kidney's side will be expected to progress from their group alongside Australia and O'Connell's knows anything is possible in the knockout stages.

"We've excellent players, we know how good we can be," he added. "With the experience we have we can produce it in the World Cup."