Name the player the Wallabies can least likely afford to lose at the rugby World Cup. 

Quade Cooper? Perhaps, but a close second would be his ‘stunt double' Digby Ioane. 

Ioane's ability to humiliate the opposition with ball in hand and be the absolute go-to guy for the Wallabies seeking penetration in attack will be sorely missed now he is sidelined with a fractured thumb. 

However it is in defence that Ioane's absence will be felt most. The 26 year-old powerhouse polices the five eighth channel, swapping positions with Cooper, when the Australians have to tackle. 

Cooper has been cooler and calmer under pressure in recent Tests, not only because he is growing into the role as the Wallabies‘ playmaker, but he's benefitting from the mini-vacations he takes on the wing. 

While the No.10 is sipping cocktails on the flank, Ioane, along with punishing Pat McCabe and Anthony Faingaa, is terrifying teams foolish enough to attack through midfield. 

That will all change now, with Ioane sustaining the injury in Australia's grafting win over Italy in their first pool match and facing the prospect of being sidelined until at least the quarter finals. 

What does coach Robbie Deans do? Sure, he's got James O'Connor and/or Drew Mitchell to call on -- that means they won't lose everything in attack, but it's going to force a complete re-think in defence. 

O'Connor is a capable defender, though he's not a giant, while Mitchell is your typical outside back: a flyer not a thwarter. 

With Australia's biggest pool test looming on Saturday against Ireland, likely in the wet at Eden Park (aka The Wallaby Graveyard) a solution must be found quickly, and it won't be to try and turn star player Cooper into an tackling whiz overnight. He's too valuable in his current role, sparking the Wallabies in attack and taking time outs when the dirty business of defending becomes necessary. 

I'd retain Faingaa who, admittedly had a shocker against Italy. Nevertheless he is an awesome defender and has a smart rugby brain. Have him defend the five eighth slot with Adam Ashley-Cooper shuffling in to outside centre, O'Connor occupying one wing and Cooper doing his nails on the other. 

If I were the Irish coach -- and I know there's a joke here somewhere, but I can't lose my train of thought -- I would immediately get every large man in the squad to spend hours running one or two passes off the ruck towards an imaginary Quade Cooper (in the hope Deans won't find somewhere to hide him). 

I'd throw in a few passing and catching drills, as the Irish were dreadfully inept doing the basics overcoming a brave USA side at the weekend. 

It's hard to imagine they can play that poorly again -- certainly the usually awesome centre combination of Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll will be better for the run against the Yanks. Both look underdone, or perhaps they are carrying injuries, but they can tear anyone up and have a habit of doing that against Australia. 

The American scrum isn't strong -- they were going backwards against Canada in recent Tests -- but that's not to take away from the Irish in that phase of play. Their boofheads were devastating in the set piece and may, in fact, present the Wallabies' improved forwards with one of their biggest challenges of the tournament. 

Much has been made of the less-than-stellar openings by the English, French and South Africans, but they all played more or less as expected. 

England and South Africa are powerful but one dimensional while the French, are apparently still French, deciding not to turn up until late in the game against a well coached Japanese side. 

It's great to see the second-tier sides put up a fight -- Japan was wonderful -- but injuries, fatigue and lack of squad depth will eat away at the minnows' ambitions over the coming weeks. 

As predictable as the Australians being the most loathed team at the tournament has been the performances of the International Rugby Board's cast of ‘top‘ referees. Blatant mistakes happen -- like Wayne Barnes‘ regrettable decision to wave off James Hook's potential match winning kick for Wales -- but it's the insidious stuff that destroys events. 

George Clancy was torturously bad in the All Blacks-Tonga opener, a game shown around the world to potentially millions who never seen a rugby Test before. 

Similarly, Australia's top-drawer fixture against Italy should have been a showpiece but was spoiled by the pedantic, whistle-happy Alain Rolland who blew nine penalties in the first 16 minutes. 

Defenders of adjudicators such as Rolland will insist he's just enforcing the rules -- sorry, the friggin laws -- of the game. But that wholly ignores the fact that rugby referees have and must use discretion in interpreting and applying the friggin' laws. 

For example, in any one scrum and usually in every second or third ruck, there will be -- referencing the strict letter of the law -- an indiscretion committed, usually more than one. When Rolland is on a roll blowing the whistle like a demented postman, he's obviously trying impose his will on the game, but then it stops suddenly for a quarter of the game as he ignores exactly the same practices he was incandescent about a few minutes before (especially Australia and Italy sealing off the ball in attack at the breakdown and slowing it down in defence). 

Rolland and a few of the other refs at this potentially fantastic tournament don't seem to want to work with the players to get the game they want: they just want to tell them what to do and SMACK them when they don't. Yes! If only they brought back the cane. 

Consistency and authority aren't achieved by overreacting and flailing about in spits and spurts -- ask any parent: you have to pick your fight and once you've taken a position stick to it calmly, rather than carrying on like an indignant dropkick. 

Post-game, the Wallabies took responsibility for their behavior against Italy, slapping themselves over the wrist for getting lippy with Rolland. Fair enough: now, perhaps the refs can do their bit and develop a game-management policy that allows a bit of rugby to break out in between their lectures and posturing.