Ireland's wait for a team show jumping medal goes on after a disappointing seventh-placed finish in the final at the Palace of Versailles.
The Irish were ranked fourth on five faults after two of their three riders had completed their rounds, Shane Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz knocking the final fence and picking up a time penalty before a superb clear from Daniel Coyle on Legacy (below).
Ireland needed another low round to challenge for the medals but Cian O'Connor, in his fourth Olympics, and Maurice clipped two fences and were just outside the 79-second limit, ending Ireland's medal chances.
O'Connor said it was a "tough day" but promised to "come again".
He said: "We're at the pinnacle of our sport and it shows the fine lines at this level. We had good plans, but it’s a big arena with very unique fences - my lad has been jumping great all year and today just wasn’t his day but there’s a lot of people who put so much work in."
"We’ll dust ourselves down now, we’ve a few days off now and make sure our horses are ok. That's the main thing - we’ll come again," he added.
Sweetman, who finished in a time of 79.81 to add a single time penalty, said he felt that being penalized for knocking the last bar was "cheap".
"I'm not sure, it fell a little bit late. I took a stride less than most had been doing and normally that’s good for us but it proved costly but he jumped great," he said.
After Coyle and Legacy's error-free round, the Derry man said it was a "dream come through".
"Unbelievable - absolutely incredible. To jump double clear at the Olympics is just a dream come true. She was a little more tired in there today - as was I - there hasn't been much sleeping done over the last day or two and I’ll be glad of the couple of days break now before the individual on Monday," he said.
Ward McClain sent the USA temporarily in front on four faults after a 76.57 clear but Scott Brash kept his cool on Jefferson, claiming gold for Great Britain with a single time penalty.
None of the Team GB trio of Brash, Harry Charles or Ben Maher had a fence down as they finished the final with just two faults.
Hosts France claimed bronze ahead of Netherlands on time, finishing just .57 of a second faster across the three riders after they both finished with seven faults.
Germany (8 faults), Sweden (12), Ireland (14), Belgium (20) and Israel (33, two riders) rounded out the finishing places.
The Irish trio will be back in action in Monday's individual show jumping qualifiers, hoping to qualify for Tuesday's final.
