It is not just Humphreys' loss but all Ireland's that the national team rarely got the best out of this intelligent, articulate and talented player.

Sure, he won stacks of caps but the one thing the Ulster fly half did not achieve was convincing Eddie O'Sullivan that he was a better long term bet for the No. 10 jersey than Ronan O'Gara.

For me, Humphreys was the man in whom Ireland should have invested. O'Gara has had opportunities for year after year in the O'Sullivan era but what did he steer Ireland to, in terms of trophies ? Not even a single Grand Slam in the Six Nations.

Three Triple Crowns, I hear some shout. Big deal, is my response. Ireland (and maybe Scotland) are the only rugby playing nations left who place any importance on Triple Crowns.They mean hardly anything in the modern game, and I'm astonished Ireland give them so much credence. For a poor, struggling team like Scotland with their desperately limited resources, I can understand it. For a side with Ireland's aspirations, I am bewildered.

It is surely appropriate to remember the talented players O'Gara has had outside him in recent years.

Probably the world's most complete centre, Brian O'Driscoll, not to mention the immensely talented Gordon D'Arcy, Geordan Murphy, Denis Hickie etc. were there.Yet still Ireland failed to touch the highest peaks.

Had Ireland given Humphreys the very public backing and support enjoyed by O'Gara, I suggest they could have lifted a Grand Slam. Sure, his defence was hardly in the Jonny Wilkinson class of aggression but Humphreys had a touch of class, that one crucial, defining ingredient in building a major trophy winning side.

It was to Ireland's ultimate failure (and his own), that O'Sullivan stubbornly refused to change his mind, to look anew at the Humphreys/O'Gara debate.

He ignored the Munster man's frustrating tendency to retreat into the pocket where a fly half threatens no-one. He chose to believe, without any real evidence, that O'Gara would be the man to take Ireland onto the winner's rostrum.

In the end, everyone has lost out £ Humphreys, O'Gara, O'Sullivan and all Irish rugby. The coach's refusal to change track set Ireland on a course for moderation these past eight years.

And if you believe that this really was a so-called 'golden generation' of Irish international players, then you are surely entitled to ask why they constantly kept coming up short.

The inconsistency of Ronan O'Gara was undoubtedly one reason.

It may seem daft to suggest that a player who has won as many caps as David Humphreys hasn't quite hit the heights in the game. On the face of it, his has been a glittering career.

But if I were David, I'd feel a touch frustrated. All that skill, all that dash (certainly in his earlier years) and all that potential; yet ultimately, Ireland missed out and this great Ulster servant has to feel some dismay at that. Both he and Ireland deserved better these last few years.

Meanwhile, David Knox, who has coached the Leinster backs for the last three seasons, offered his candid views on Irish rugby this week. He suggested Ireland needed an overseas coach, not Declan Kidney, to replace Eddie O'Sullivan. He noted Munster's proud Heineken Cup record (and tipped them to win the trophy next weekend) but dismissed their 10-man style of rugby. He said he thought Irish rugby was still much too conservative. And he revealed a feud within the Leinster coaching camp.

Yet all Knox did was give his own opinions. Honestly and openly. And therein lies the trouble, I suspect.

People don't get it with the Australians. They think they're being insulting when in reality, all they're doing is offering, for better or worse, their own views. In the interview, David Knox spent hours talking about rugby football and the game in Ireland.

At no stage was there even the slightest hint of rancour, of ranting or anything like it. He was asked straightforward questions and he answered them in a straight manner. He said what he believed.

David Knox has no axe to grind as far as Ireland or Irish rugby is concerned. He was simply doing what Australians invariably do when they're questioned about something. They front up.

Personally speaking, I much prefer that approach to those who say one thing and mean the opposite. Or those who look you in the face, smile and profess friendship and then rubbish you behind your back.

I've spent a large part of my professional working life in the company of Australian rugby people and I'm proud to call so many of them my friends. Far sooner that than the two faced individuals you also encounter in life.