Ireland may have made it look easy against Romania but James Lowe says the conditions were the most difficult he has ever played in.
The match kicked off at 3.30pm local time and the temperatures reached 35C on the pitch at the Stade de Bordeaux.
Part of the playing surface was shielded from direct sunlight by the shadow of the stands but the humidity hit 27% and Lowe, a native of New Zealand, says their pre-World Cup training camps stood to them.
"It was 35 degrees but sure, look, we've been prepping for these conditions for the last seven weeks," said Lowe, who won his 22nd cap in the 82-8 win.
"We spent time in Portugal, we spent time a couple of weeks ago in Biarritz and it was everything we expected and more. Jeeze, it was hot out there.
"Bloody Keith [Earls] had the easy ride in the first half [in the shade], but look everyone has to do it so you can’t really lean on that as an excuse.
"It was bloody hot. No [I haven’t played in such heat before], definitely not. Not ever.
"I played in Suva [in Fiji] before but that was different, that was muggy and very, very slippery.
"Actually, I feel like we handled the conditions quite well. I mean if you saw the New Zealand-France game [Friday] it was very, very slippy.
"When it gets any sort of dew from the boys’ jerseys and you get the ball on them, you actually drop passes and it’s literally because the ball is so slippery.
"But a couple of dry towels whenever you can and a little bit of sticky spray goes a long way.
"We weigh in and we weigh out, and it’s no surprise that it’s two three kgs a loss in that sort of heat. It’s all about getting fuel back in."
Number 8 Caelan Doris (above) also said it was a challenge.
"Especially with the scrum cap on, I was melting at times," he said.
"The water breaks definitely helped, the ball was a bit slippy, which led to a few scrums and a few stoppages.
"So we did get breaks here and there but we were overheating massively, the ball, a slippy ball adds another element to it, but just the heat and trying to persevere with that as well, we had spoken about it."
While there was a noticeable class difference between the sides in the Pool B clash, the sweltering heat made Ireland’s 12-try victory even more impressive.
Many of the Irish scores came from multi-phase plays with forwards and backs interacting with little heed to the number on their backs; the last try coming from Ireland’s own line after they turned down the chance to kick the ball dead to end the game.
"I think teams are being rewarded for being ambitious but, like, we’re not doing anything too crazy," added 31-year-old Lowe.
"It’s everything we train, it’s not off the cuff or we don’t know what we’re doing. Everyone has got a role to play, it’s 15 all in and it doesn’t matter what number you’ve got on the back of your shirt you’ve got to perform and you’ve got to have the skill set.
"You’re seeing props with hands like loose forwards used to have and the same with our locks. Some of our locks can play as loose forwards.
"It’s just the evolution of the game and we’re not the only team that has an athletic forward pack, there’s a fair few others out there."
Lowe signed for Leinster in 2017 and became Ireland-qualified three years later.
This is his first World Cup experience and he said he was looking forward to catching up with his father, Geoff, who had made the trip from New Zealand.
"Yeah, it’s been intense, man, it’s the World Cup," said the wing.
"The travelling support has been incredible. You can’t bloody get away from the Irish, everywhere you go. Half the time I’m sitting in my hotel because I’m too scared to go outside.
"It’s a blessing and a curse. We absolutely love the travelling support. When we did a loop at the end there it was absolutely phenomenal.
"The amount of green that stood there and waited for us and cheered as we walked around was absolutely phenomenal.
"It’s a World Cup, we’re only a couple of hours off-shore, and it’s absolutely fantastic to see so many travelling.
"My old man is here. I don’t know where he is, he’s drinking pints on the outside, I haven’t seen him yet.
"I’ll get him into the hotel, get a few brown liquors in, nothing too crazy, but can’t wait to see him. He'll be having pints of wine!
"He’s here for two months. He’s been an awesome granddad for the last couple of weeks while I’ve been away so my wife is very, very happy with him.
"They’re over as well. He struggles a little bit in the heat. It’s just such a contrast with Ireland and then you come over here and it’s 35 degrees.
"He’s over for a little more than two months. So it’s a bit of craic for him."
Ireland face Tonga in the second round in Nantes on Saturday, with head coach Andy Farrell set to name his team on Thursday afternoon.
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Tonga (Saturday, 8pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1, and follow live updates on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app.
Watch South Africa v Romania (Sunday 2pm) and Australia v Fiji (Sunday 4.45pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with coverage of every Rugby World Cup game on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app.
