It is becoming a truism in the modern game that an accumulation of individual errors can translate into an absolute hammering on the scoreboard.

In the past year and a half, the Wallabies have been thrashed in Argentina, the Irish have been walloped by France in Dublin, the All Blacks have been thumped by the Springboks, and even South Africa conceded 38 unanswered points at home to Australia.

Big loses are becoming surprisingly common all round, and the Wallabies’ record 46-19 defeat against Ireland on Sunday morning (AEDT) is part of that new trend.

It was sparked by a high-ball nightmare and lineout meltdown, but although those two areas are fixable, it is now undeniable the Wallabies have gone backwards recently. These are hard times because the hope that was delivered during the British and Irish Lions series and the remarkable win at Ellis Park looked like more than another false dawn. But that is now uncertain.

Anyone who has been in Ireland from November until about March knows exactly what the conditions in Dublin are like: the rain........

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