An Irish squad beset by troubles returned to the training pitch this afternoon for a rare open session, as the search for a remedy to the desperate form that has all but ended their World Cup campaign continues. Unfortunately, all some found were hard knocks and ice packs.
Outhalf Ronan O'Gara and fullback Girvan Dempsey sat out the full session with injuries sustained in the 25-3 defeat to France, and were promptly joined in the dugout by Brian O'Driscoll, Jerry Flannery and Isaac Boss.
O'Gara, whose form has been drastically short of his best in the tournament so far, is nursing a "bruised" calf, while Dempsey is recovering from a shoulder injury, although it was relieved of the sling that supported it in the immediate aftermath of the French game.
On the pitch in Bordeaux's Stade Bordelaise captain O'Driscoll took a bang on his right knee, forcing him to retire from the session, while hooker Flannery came off second best from a collision with prop Simon Best.
Flannery was floored for several minutes with a "shoulder stinger", after which he got to his feet, applied an ice pack and took his leave for the day.
Scrumhalf Boss, who played second fiddle to Eoin Reddan last Friday, received three stitches to a cut above his left eye, in what was full blooded workout.
As it stands, none of the knocks are expected to effect the selection process ahead of the crunch match with Argentina on Sunday, but the wear and tear must be a concern for the coach.
The session was watched by 1,500 local rugby fans and school children.
Ireland must beat Argentina in the Parc des Princes by a margin of at least eight points, and score four tries in the process, if they are to qualify from a pool that has taken its toll both mentally and physically.
That looks a tall order given the uninspiring wins over Namibia and Georgia in the first two games and a performance against France that suggested there will be no dramatic about-turn in form in time for the challenge of Los Pumas, who have beaten both minnows well and defeated the hosts in the opening game of the tournament.
In fact, it will require Ireland to record the biggest win over Argentina since the World Cup of 1999. Centre Gordon D'Arcy, who has been virtually anonymous in the three games so far, knows what is required.
"We need to play the game of our lives," he told the media today. "It will be very dangerous if we go into the game just concentrating on scoring tries. Of course, it will be on our minds but that's not the way to beat Argentina.
"They're very hard and very physical defensively. The way to do it is to keep taking them through the phases and keep turning them around, that's when they can start getting a bit down. We can't afford to be attempting to run in tries from our own 22.
"Argentina have always been defensively very good but they've added an extra dimension to their game now (in attack) ... It's up to us to get behind them and be very clinical and get our passes away."
O'Sullivan has already hinted that there will be changes for the fourth game.
There have been calls for the inclusion of Ulster's Paddy Wallace ahead of O'Gara, who has had more to cope with than most on tour, with accusations of gambling debts and marital problems seemingly contributing to his lacklustre performances so far.
O'Sullivan may also finally bow to public opinion and allow Geordan Murphy a chance to make an impact. The Leiceseter back's only contribution so far has been a paltry 30 seconds against Namibia.
Whatever he decides, D'Arcy insists the coach has the support of the squad. It is the team, he says, that have failed to produce.
"We're all 100 per cent behind Eddie. Whatever decisions he makes are the right ones as far as we are concerned. The problem is we just haven't been clicking on the field."
