Accentuate the heavy toll then highlight those who remain. With Paul O’Connell under the knife, Peter O’Mahony forced home and Seán O’Brien wandering about in civvies, a pall was draped over Ireland’s Hilton hotel base this week.

It is now for Rory Best and other leaders to lift it.

The system comes under structural examination now but the plan remains unchanged.

Never mind four years seeming like a lifetime, one game was enough to fracture Ireland’s leadership core.

Nobody left in a green jersey has the power of mind, the super human resilience to replicate O’Connell’s impact.

“His addition is greater than the player,” said Brian O’Driscoll on ITV at half-time last Sunday.

Becoming O'Connell? Impossible. So it becomes about matching his endeavour. Iain Henderson can make O'Connell's retirement not seem so acutely painful in the coming years. But immediately filling that void is an enormous ask of this potentially great player.

Leadership

“Paulie’s leadership will be a loss,” agreed Best, Ulster captain and Ireland leader.

“Everyone now has to step up. They will not be held by the hand by Paulie. You got to take ownership yourself. I imagine if it’s anything like last weekend you are not going to be able to hear each other it’s going to be so loud.”

Nor is anybody playing to the ravenous standard set by O’Mahony across all facets of backrow play.

If there is any hope against Argentina, Devin Toner must run a flawless lineout and Jordi Murphy must play "out of his skin,"something he admitted this week to not doing against Romania.

It goes on. The true nature of Johnny Sexton's injury will reveal itself quite quickly, but he simply has to play for Ireland to progress. Sexton has never finished any of the epic Test matches in the Joe Schmidt era and the likelihood is he will sacrifice himself at the Irish rugby altar before progression to uncharted lands can commence.

Another O'Brien has never existed. Maybe Cian Healy will rise back up to partially fill this gaping hole.

Schmidt was asked to linger briefly on Pascal Papé’s statement about receiving a “violent punch” and “violent pain” for the whole match after being “beaten” by O’Brien in the opening seconds of last Sunday’s French victory.

This appears to have soured Irish-Franco rugby relations for a very long time.

“It took a lot of time and preparing and going through that process,” said Schmidt. “There is obviously disappointing facets of it for us.

“We knew they would come out and try to physically take it to us and frustrate us. Some of the intimidation prior to the game around Johnny was probably . . .”

The sentence trails off.

Motivated

“I think Seán got it wrong. He was over motivated and when he was held off the ball he reacted in a way that he shouldn’t and has paid the price, as have we.”

Schmidt was keen to move on. He's correct to do so as this midweek debacle has an irrelevancy to the World Cup final but it has drained many resources to ensure a great Irish player only misses one game.

But it rankles that O’Brien was damned by Papé and the French doctor’s emphasising the severe nature of the injury inflicted by his strike.

Remarkably, the French lock, with a known record of ill-discipline himself, recovered to make 17 tackles and five carries yet was unable to train – Dr Jean-Baptiste Grisoli testified – last Tuesday because of the internal wound.

The wound is Ireland's now. Jamie Heaslip is joined in a backrow by Murphy and Chris Henry.

Both are unquestionably competent but nether have reached the world-class levels and thunderous relentlessness of O’Mahony and O’Brien.

Papé, admirably playing on until the 73rd minute despite violent pain, made a second run at getting O'Brien sent off soon after Robbie Henshaw's genuinely stunning standing up of Mathieu Bastareaud and second carry close to the French line.

“Hopefully we’ve learned our lessons from that,” said Schmidt dryly.

“The fact the same player did it in the 49th minute adds to our frustration. And Seán didn’t react that time probably because we were a few metres out from the line. He loaded himself to carry the next ball and did it incredibly well.”

Papé’s slyness requires a freeze frames. On 49.20 he accidentally, while retreating from an offside position, ran into O’Brien. The Irish flanker, now settled into the performances of a lifetime, ignores the three seconds Papé grips his jersey before demanding the ball and sucking in three blue jerseys. Rob Kearney’s try came four phases later.

All of that was orchestrated by Murray and Kearney demanding the ball.

Holding the fort

Leaders. It came off another Henshaw decoy run and returning the favour by passing inside to Tommy Bowe. Victory came from many other facets, including Keith Earls' playing the most "physical game of my life" while holding the fort in the centre.

Brian O'Driscoll called Jared Payne the glue in this Ireland team.

Henshaw to Bowe to Earls almost gifted the country an iconic try. They don’t need any glue to combine again. This team, now more than ever, is about continuing the legacy handed to them by others.

Henshaw is already a leader too.

"When a few other number 12s were either injured or getting close to retirement we knew we were going to have to have someone in that position," Schmidt explained. "I honestly thought we were going to slot him into 13. We spent a whole Six Nations grooming him for that then we shoved him in one. He's been fantastic for us."

Payne was supposed to be the "blanket" for Henshaw to grow into his new life but that was swept aside in a massive leap of patriotism as the senior man between Earls and Ian Madigan. He's 22.

“He is growing up fast and growing into a really important component of our team.”

Seething figure

Schmidt cut a quietly seething figure Friday lunch time when the penalty count was brought up.

The Irish citizen, without prompting, turned it into a straight accusation of an illegal action that ended Paul O’Connell’s international career. It was ridiculously said this week that TV3 refused to show additional replays of O’Connell’s injury to protect his friends and family from the gruesome sight.

“When Paul O’Connell gets injured there is an incredibly clear side entry that ends his involvement in the World Cup that wasn’t penalised. You know you are going to get that in the game but you hope the swings and roundabouts allow you to get an even mix of the calls.”

That certainly makes it worthwhile to revisit the great man’s final seconds in a green jersey. The clock struck 40 just after Madigan put the ball out on the full near halfway. O’Connell was first to everything at this stage. Holding the other forwards' hands.

France got off the top possession and speared into midfield. The second phase was met by O'Connell in a perfect position for turnover ball. Wesley Fofana made the side entry on O'Connell's left leg, Papé was to the other side. Fofana lifted his leg and the injury occurred.

The corner of the screen shows O’Connell back up to his knees, willing his snapped body to continue. But it was over.

All this matters because the Argentinians will be no better. They will endeavour to crawl inside Irish skins. This fixture has a history of eye-gouging. It’s a bitter rivalry and will be so again. Especially without the trio of O’s and enhancement of perpetual worry about Sexton.

Wisdom

And still, it’s vastly different from Wellington in 2011 because of the Ireland coach’s all-encompassing technical excellence and wisdom.

“There is something in the Irish psyche that if you are beaten around a little bit there is a resilience and resolve that gets demonstrated,” Schmidt added. “I would be really confident that that will be demonstrated. Will it be enough? We’ll find out.”