Ireland captain James Ryan admitted that preparation for the World Rugby U-20 Championships match against New Zealand was different to any other in the aftermath of the historic victory over the Baby Blacks.
In their sixth attempt in the competition, the young Irish players managed a feat that has so far eluded their senior counterparts in recording a win over the rugby kingpins.
Nigel Carolan’s side were buoyed after beating a highly-fancied Wales in their opening pool game and carried that form through in the pouring rain in Manchester.
"There is a buzz in the camp and that is going to continue now but we have to take a step back now and focus on Georgia" - Max Deegan
A 20-14 half-time lead came under pressure at times in the second half and Jordie Barrett had the chance to make it a two-point game in the second half but missed his conversion and Ireland rallied and deservedly took the spoils with a try from Max Deegan and the accurate boot of Johnny McPhillips seeing them home.
The reigning champions were 33/1 on with some bookies but team captain Ryan, who was named man-of-the-match for his performance in the second row, admitted it was the chance at making history which inspired his team-mates.
“We talked before the game about creating history,” he said post-match. “It wasn’t just another game.
“The boys dug really deep there in the second half and got the win.”
The win over Six Nations rivals Wales raised a few eyebrows and the Lansdowne man said the onus was to go out and prove the result was not a once-off.
“It was a huge win for us against Wales, that was an upset.
“It would have been easy for us to rest on our laurels, but the boys recovered really well and we prepared for this game.”
When asked could Ireland now go on to win the tournament outright, the St. Michael’s College man said: "Of course we can win this title, but we are thinking about the next game against Georgia, we're not looking too far ahead."
Try scorer Max Deegan added: "It's the stuff of dreams, the moments you dream about in games where you have to score, you need to score, and to do that is honestly unbelievable.
"I can't put it into words what it means, luckily enough I was able to pick up and went over. It's something special [to beat Wales and New Zealand back to back], in camp and the coming weeks we knew we had it in us and were building well.
"There is a buzz in the camp and that is going to continue now but we have to take a step back now and focus on Georgia."
They meet Georgia on Tuesday and will qualify for the semi-finals should they win.
