By Cathal Dervan

Tuesday afternoons for the bulk of November revolve around the Citywest Hotel on the Naas dual carriageway and the Irish rugby team as test fever grips the nation.

Last weekend’s dismal Lansdowne Road showing against the might of the All-Blacks reserves was just the curtain raiser for a triple header at the oldest ground in world rugby.

This weekend it’s the turn of the Wallabies from Australia to strut their stuff against an Irish side now just under two years away from the World Cup challenge that will determine the Eddie O’Sullivan era.

After that the minnows from Romania provide the final opposition of 2005 for rugby’s equivalent of the boys in green.

And all the while the clock is ticking on the O’Sullivan reign, all the while the critics are deciding if O’Sullivan is the man to claim the elusive Grand Slam for Ireland.

All of which may explain why one colleague remarked that Eddie is looking a lot older and greyer these days as we sat in a Citywest conference room on Tuesday, digesting the team named to play the Aussies this Saturday.

Like the area underneath the North Terrace which was ravaged by fire in the build-up to Saturday’s defeat, Eddie looks a little the worse for wear right now. He looks like a man who knows the game is almost up unless he can pull a miracle from the hat in the next 18 months.

A year and a bit after the glory of a Triple Crown lap of honor at Lansdowne, there is little to suggest right now that O’Sullivan can end a Grand Slam wait that stretches all the way back to 1948, never mind make any real mark on the 2007 World Cup.

Last season’s Six Nations ended with defeat at home to England and away to Wales at the end of a season when Ireland were ranked as favorites for the Slam by everyone, themselves included.

That tag rested uneasily on the shoulders of O’Sullivan’s men, but more worryingly for the Irish boss they were also unable to cope with the tag of underdogs against the All-Blacks last Saturday afternoon.

That Kiwi coach Graham Henry could afford to send out what was essentially a second string side and still beat Ireland by 38 points, on a 45-7 scoreline, tells its own story.

Those New Zealand reserves were so good that you could suggest they are the second best side in international rugby right now, just behind the All-Blacks side that will take on England at Twickenham and expect a far greater challenge this Saturday.

But whatever about the Kiwis and their undoubted ranking as favorites for the 2007 World Cup, these are worrying times for O’Sullivan and for anyone who cares about Irish rugby.

Without the talents of the injured Brian O’Driscoll last Saturday Ireland didn’t just lack any real creativity in the wake of unprecedented Kiwi pressure — they also lacked real leadership.

And that has to be the greatest concern for O’Sullivan. Without O’Driscoll there was no one on the pitch big enough and man enough to take the tough calls, no one prepared to tell Ronan O’Gara to kick the ball behind the Blacks and give his under pressure defense some sort of breathing space.

Ireland tried to run the ball at their opponents in the early stages of the game and ended up managing only to concede silly penalties for a series of stupid knock-ons. They wasted chances to score in the first five minutes, most notably when youngster Tommy Bowe cut inside with Geordan Murphy free outside him, and the visitors made them pay heavily.

Every time New Zealand could sense the Irish line they went for it, five tries a suitable return for their impressive afternoon’s work. The ease with which they cut through the home defense at will ensured this was a game that was frightening to watch.

Where now for O’Sullivan? On Tuesday he spoke of the need to cut out those basic errors, he spoke of redemption for the 14 players who get another start this weekend against an Aussie side without a win in eight games themselves.

He never spoke of his own future or his own fears for that future simply because, on the surface anyway, it is not an issue right now.

Eddie O’Sullivan is safe as Irish coach until the World Cup but he has to deliver some promise between now and then and he has to deliver on that promise in France.

Otherwise, like Brian Kerr in recent times, he will find the hair greying and the knives coming out at a rate of knots.