Ireland were left counting a high injury toll after an epic 24-9 victory over France in a brutal World Cup Pool D decider on Sunday.
The win for Joe Schmidt’s men in green set up a quarter-final against Argentina next weekend, while the French come up against the might of the All Blacks.
But victory at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium came at a high price for the Irish, playmaker Jonny Sexton leaving the pitch after 25 minutes, skipper Paul O’Connell stretchered off at half-time and flanker Peter O’Mahony also departing on a stretcher.
“The challenge grew in complication when we lost Jonny early in the game, Paul just before halftime, and then Peter O’Mahony,” deadpanned Schmidt.
“That’s 200-plus caps. It does make it a challenge to make sure the experience and the calm heads are there.
“It doesn’t look great with Paul,” Schmidt admitted. “It looks like an upper hamstring, but we will probably have to wait until tomorrow to give it a scan and make sure the inflammation has decreased a little bit.
“It’s probably Paul that worries me of the three.”
Turning to Sexton, who had kicked two early penalties before his premature departure, Schmidt said: “It looked like an adductor to me, but it’s not the learned eye of a medic. So we are probably going to get Jonny scanned tomorrow.
“I’ve spoken to Jonny and he’s already talking about next week. I’m not sure whether that means he’ll be playing. He’s never short of advice!”
O’Mahony, the Kiwi coach added, “didn’t seem too bad, we are hopeful with Pete. I think it’s a twisted ankle or knee. He was walking pretty well in the changing room and hopefully he’ll be ok”.
No 8 Jamie Heaslip, part of a formidable Irish backrow in which openside Sean O’Brien shone, said the team had crucially not panicked after the injuries.
“At halftime, it was actually quite a calm changing room, everyone just kind of switched into their role and adapted a bit to the solutions, who was fitting in where and how we were going to proceed,” Heaslip said.
“All the guys who stepped in put a massive amount of work.”
One of the replacements to step up to the plate was Ian Madigan, who came on for Sexton and led the Irish team with aplomb, kicking two penalties and converting Conor Murray’s try after Rob Kearney had crossed for the first on 50 minutes.
“You’re always delighted when a young guy comes through the system,” Schmidt said, listing the “incredibly hard-working” fly-half’s consistent goalkicking percentages and defensive courage as plusses.
“One thing that helped Ian was the quality of the go-forward ball that Jamie and the pack offered him. It got him on the front foot and made his job a little bit easier.”
Heaslip said he had rarely encountered an atmosphere as electric as in the Welsh capital for what proved to be an intense match.
“It was right up there, I’m looking forward to seeing the numbers,” he said.
“It felt like a dog fight at times, a real slugfest between the two packs and then it would blow wide open with both sets of backs playing some really expansive rugby with the ball going end to end.
“Over the last couple of years, it’s been a one-score game between the two sides. We knew it was going to go right to the wire. You have to be patient, calm and focused and take your opportunity when it comes and the boys did that.
“There are a lot of sore bodies in that changing room. The lads were just physically and emotionally drained at the end of it and from this point on that is what you’ve got to give when you get the chance to wear that jersey.”