'Bad blood': Ireland boss Ged Corcoran stokes fire ahead of crunch clash with Lebanon

Doueihi was sent off for using foul or abusive language to referee Grant Atkins during his side’s opening 34-12 defeat by New Zealand in Warrington last Sunday and was subsequently given a one-match penalty notice by the tournament’s match review panel.

Lebanon opted to contest the charge and, after it was upheld at a hearing on Wednesday, their appeal was rejected 48 hours later by a separate judiciary panel, on which sat former Great Britain internationals Alan Hunte and Adrian Morley.

“For them to invest as much energy as they have must mean they are desperate,” Corcoran told the PA news agency.

“There’s a lot of animosity between us and Lebanon, even way back to when I played in 2007 in our qualifier when we pipped them at Dewsbury.

“There was a lot of bad blood before the game, a lot of bad blood in the game and then obviously it spilled over after the game.

“They’re desperate, it’s their Grand Final. They competed with New Zealand but they’re desperate to get to the quarters.

“The best team on the day will win.”

Ireland booked their place at the 2008 World Cup thanks to that 18-18 draw with Lebanon in a match that was played at Dewsbury because of the volatile situation in the Middle East.

Sunday’s second round Group C fixture is also shaping up as a crucial clash, with the winners almost certain to qualify for the last eight with a second consecutive win.

Corcoran’s team will go into the game with confidence following their opening 48-2 victory over Jamaica at Headingley.

“We have to get to that quarter-final to keep exceeding our expectations” said Corcoran, who succeeded Stuart Littler as the Wolfhounds’ head coach in the summer.

“They will throw a different challenge to us but we’ll keep working to the processes we’ve set. Defensively we stood firm against Jamaica.”

Corcoran, who says he had a game plan to face a Cedars team both with and without Doueihi, is set to bring in prop Rob Mulhern and centre Keanan Brand after injury kept both men out of the opening game.

“I’m ecstatic with where we are on and off the field,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier when you’ve got good people.”​​​​​​​