Ireland boss Andy Farrell praised his players for their performance against Scotland, the Irish fans for their incomparable support and then looked forward to a day of destiny with the All Blacks, declaring "this is living."
Farrell watched his team dismantle Scotland in their final Pool B game to secure table-topping entry to the World Cup quarter-final stage where they will face New Zealand next Saturday. Needless to say, the Englishman loved what he saw from all concerned.
"We actually don't know what our potential is," Farrell told Virgin Media TV. "We know what we're trying to strive for as far as all different parts of the game. But I don't think we've seen the best of our game yet.
"And obviously next week is a huge, huge game against a fantastic side that's playing some unbelievable rugby at this moment in time.
"That's living isn't it? That's where you want to be. If you can't get excited about that, we might as well not turn up."
Ireland never allowed their Celtic cousins to settle and the game was effectively over as a contest by half-time. Only a late flourish from the Scots dressed up the scoreboard slightly.
"I thought we were very good in the first half and playing against a very good side in Scotland," Farrell said. "We know that they're a threat with the ball in hand and obviously we got off to a nice start.
"But they threw everything but the kitchen sink at us for a ten-minute spell and how we kept them out was remarkable defence and how we used that momentum that we got from our defence to get down the other end and were clinical with a few chances that we had and ended up on the right side of the scoreboard with the bonus point at half-time was a dream first half.
"But it's what's been building and it's what's going to have to keep on happening for us to keep progressing in this competition."
"That's what top level test rugby is all about. It's about taking your chances and being clinical because you're always going to have to defend your own line and be disciplined with that.
"That was a proper test match for us as far as what we've been trying to build to.
"Now we've got through the pool and that's all that we've done and we've earned the right to take on a fantastic side in New Zealand in the quarter-final. It's finals from here on in isn't it really?"
As Johnny Sexton had before him, Farrell made a point of defending his unit against an apparent charge of complacency following their exhuberant celebrations after the epic pool win over South Africa. A good old fashioned seige mentality - imagined or otherwise - might be just what's needed for Farrell to keep his barnstorming side sharp heading into the knockout stages.
"Honestly, we talk about it all the time," Farrell said. "In fact, one of my talks before the game I showed the old fella with his 80th birthday where he was crying in the stands. I showed that just before the game.
"It means a lot to us. We got a bit of stick didn't we a couple of weeks ago for thanking our fans going round the pitch and thanking them.
"Wow, when they turn up in their droves, that's the least we can do."
The evening could scarcely have gone better for veteran out-half Sexton. Three conversions followed by an early bath after his 45th-minute withdrawal having barely got his shorts dirty. Ireland's record points scorer is in top order for the challenge of the Kiwis. After the win, he had nothing but praise for the travelling green army.
"I thought it wouldn’t get any better after South Africa a couple of weeks ago, but they proved me wrong again," Sexton said. "It’s incredible, they just keep turning up for us and it’s important that we keep turning up for them because, like I said last week, they give us the best days of our lives and we give them something similar, I’m sure, if you look round at some of the faces.
"We’re delighted to win the pool. We know this is where we want to be now, in the quarter-final against the toughest opposition that we could get. The way the draw was made three years ago, it turned out a bit unfair. But it’s the hand that we’re dealt and we’ve got to be ready for New Zealand next week."
"We’re given trust by the management to go and enjoy ourselves and have our time off so that when we come back to work we’re refreshed and we’re excited to come back to work. Sometimes we live on the edge there, we might go a bit too far. We got criticised for celebrating after the South Africa game. But we were allowed. The lads trusted us. We turned up and trained hard, we prepared well and we got the result that we needed tonight."
Man of the Match Jamison Gibson-Park echoed his captain’s sentiments about the support in Paris and declared himself the luckiest player on the pitch.
"Pretty lucky aren’t I? All the hard work gets done in front of me," Gibson-Park beamed afterwards. "It’s great to be in such a great pack and inside such a great backline really.
"I felt like a fish out of water [on the wing] at one stage. But we do a fair bit of work on covering positions in scenarios like that so I was trained a little bit there. Not to say that I felt comfortable, but it’s just awesome to be here, Man. It’s an incredible atmosphere.
"We have to thank our fans for coming out, it’s incredible to be a part of."
