Joe Schmidt endured phases of frustration throughout today’s clash with Wales, however, the Ireland coach was ultimately proud of his team as they beat their Celtic rivals 37-27 at the Aviva Stadium.
Schmidt’s side fought back from a losing position early in the first half and then almost allowed Wales back into the contest late in the second half, before Jacob Stockdale’s late try secured the victory for Ireland, who made it three from three in this year’s championship.
"There is not too much euphoria as we are not at the end of the championship but there is certainly pride," Schmidt told RTE Sport.
"I thought the way we really rolled our sleeves up today. And there was certainly relief because we knew it was going to be tough.
"I did feel we made it tough for ourselves at times. I felt that we leaked too easily and there was some slipshod stuff.
"But I thought there was some real variety in our game. We opened them up from the deep, we muscled up in close and had a real variety to our game and they struggled to contain that."
And while the Ireland coach was frustrated by the scoreline early in the game, as his side trailed 13-5, there was also an element of satisfaction at the way his side were playing the game, taking the contest to their perennial adversaries.
"The frustration was that we were turned over twice in the first half when we had them under massive pressure.
"And to be 13-5 down after the first 25-30 minutes was incredible frustrating because we had really opened them up so many times but just didn’t finish on the back of it.
"I suppose if you were ever going to have déjà vu, it was a little bit similar to what has happened in the past but I was delighted with the way the guys rolled their sleeves up and got the job done."
Despite scoring five tries en route to their bonus-point victory, Schmidt’s side were, at times, easily opened up as a result of their narrow defence and the coach admitted that there was a disconnect with some of the less experienced members of the squad.
"It was a little bit like last week, we just lost our connection," explained Schmidt.
"Probably individuals, especially some guys who haven’t spent as much time with us, just not being connected and probably making different decision from the guy outside them and then they get that disconnect, and Wales, with the runners they have, don’t need too many invitations to make the most of it."
But the coach was still focusing on the positives in his side’s play and was very pleased with the application shown by his side.
"But there was some really good defensive sets there as well. We got off the line and put them under real pressure and turned a bit of ball over."
Another area of concern for the Irish this afternoon was the place-kicking of out-half Johnny Sexton who missed three first-half kicks, however, Schmidt put it down to an "off day" and stressed that there was no injury concerns with Sexton ahead of the game.
"He was fully fit. I think most people would be able to see that pretty visibly by the way he kept carrying the ball. He was involved in pick and goes today and that’s not really in Johnny’s play-book, and he certainly released a lot of other players with well-timed passes and made good decisions.
"He had a bit of an off day from the tee and to use a golfing analogy he was hitting them big off the tee-box but once you get to the green, you’re not quite nailing your putt."
Sexton was withdrawn late in the game, Schmidt revealing after the game that the out-half suffered a glute muscle injury, but the coach has no concerns in relation to future kicking performances.
"He’ll work it out, because he is right up there as far as his accuracy is concerned normally, but to see him around the pitch, his tackle quality, his investment in carrying the ball and his direction of our play was right up there."
So on to Scotland in two weeks' time and Schmidt believes that a repeat performance in their penultimate fixture can ultimately lead to the championship decider with England on St Patrick's Day.
"It is ideal to have 14 out of 15 points because it means that you are still in the race.
"We want to stay in the race right until the end and we have given ourselves an opportunity to stay at the front of the pack.
"And in two weeks’ time against Scotland, we have to show just as much resolve, and get the same crowd support, which was phenomenal today.
"And if we can get that and stay in the race with one game to go, it will be what everybody hopes it to be."
