Greg Feek said the "small significant moments" will decide Ireland's three-match series with South Africa in Nelson Mandela Bay this Saturday, but believes the tourists have one final push in the locker to secure a famous triumph.
The Boks needed a ferocious second-half fightback to deny Joe Schmidt's men a second successive victory on their own patch, after Ireland had plundered a terrific 26-20 win in Cape Town.
Scrum coach Feek talked up the many positives of the team's displays thus far and outlined the hunger in the camp to atone for last weekend's late collapse.
“We’re lucky to be in this position," he told RTÉ Sport. "Talking to [defence coach] Andy Farrell, in league he played a lot of three-match series, and he said winning the first one is the key.
"It certainly is going to be really interesting. Joe talks about fine margins all the time but it could be just those real small significant moments that will be the difference this week.
“We’ve played well for a game and three quarters out of two games. We’ve got to look at that as a positive. You can’t win Test matches in 60 minutes, we know that. We have to be able to look at the positives but also learn from that last 20 minutes. They boys are keen to rectify it.”
"We’ve played well for a game and three quarters out of two games"
The first-Test win came despite the sending-off of CJ Stander. Ireland's response to that blow drew high praise, and Feek said it gave them genuine belief that they can emerge from this trip with the spoils.
“The turning point for us was probably near the end of the first half, start of the second half in the first Test when we were a man down.
"There might have been a little bit of a ‘uh oh’ feeling, when we lost CJ. But we gained a bit of confidence out of the fact that we could actually hold on and do alright with a man down.
"That was a good turning point for us going into the second Test. We always try to improve on the week before anyway and learn from that experience.
“South Africa are a world-class side. We need to be better, we know that. When you’re playing against opposition that are as good as they are and you give them that much ball... it’s going to be hard.
“We’re hoping we can put the team first, and do everything well in terms of systems and the individuals can then bring their own game to it."
With so much at stake in the Eastern Cape this weekend, the intensity and ferocity of the deciding clash is sure to be almost overwhelming.
Feek has urged the Irish player to keep their heads clear and their focus sharp.
"We need to make sure we’re in the right frame of mind, make sure there’s clarity, that we’re not going in there with too many things to think about," he warned.
"You’ve got two or three things that you want to concentrate on in each position, in each situation, and have that belief to get on with it and go for it.
“At Test match level, in any Test, the mental side is huge. You could be feeling a little bit fatigued but you just need a mental rest. Physically we’re not too bad, so we’ve just got to get the balance right and make sure they have the energy."
