Richie Murphy praised the maturity of his Ireland U20 side, as they booked their place in the final of the World Rugby U20 Championship with a 31-12 win against South Africa.
Ireland are now just 80 minutes away from completing a Six Nations and World Championship double, and have matched the 2016 vintage as the only Irish sides to reach the decider of the junior World Cup.
Murphy's side outscored their hosts by four tries to two in a dominant second half, but the game was arguably won and lost in the opening 40 minutes.
South Africa dominated territory and possession for the majority of the first period, but it was Ireland who led 7-0 at the break courtesy of a James Nicholson try.
That defensive effort in the first half was the winning and losing of the game, according to the Ireland coach.
"I thought South Africa came out very strong and threw a lot of stuff at us. Our boys showed great character to stay in the fight," Murphy said.
"System-wise, I thought we did quite well, and we were delighted to be able to get out of that onslaught of pressure and soak it all up, and sneak in at half-time seven points up, which I thought was a massive turning point in the game.
"We were in a good place considering we hadn't really fired as many shots as we would have liked. A lot of that was due to South Africa being really good. Their setpiece was functioning well in the first half and that was getting them on the front foot. It's quite hard to tackle some of those big boys coming around the corners, but in fairness to our boys, we stuck at it and it gave is the opportunity.
"In the second half, we conceded early on but went straight back down and got a try off Brian Gleeson coming around off the lineout, which put us in a really good place."
With Paddy McCarthy, Gus McCarthy and Brian Gleeson among the top performers in the pack, out-half Sam Prendergast produced his most complete performance of the championship on the right day.
The Leinster academy star had a 100% record off the tee with 11 points, while his pin-point crossfield kicks to Nicholson assisted two of the four tries.
"I thought Sam came into his own, especially in the second half, started getting his head up and moving the ball to space very well.
"I thought from a team point of view, the first half was about grit and determination, and the second half we probably showed a bit more of what we can do as a rugby team, and scored some really good tries.
"We're in a World Cup final, exactly where we wanted to be. We talked about preparing for these moments, and in the second half I felt that we probably brought a little more of ourselves out onto the pitch. It would be nice to go into a final and just be true to ourselves and play it the way we play it all year."
It had been an emotionally draining week for this group of Irish players, who had been dealing with the trauma of Greig Oliver's death on Monday. The Munster coach and father of their teammate Jack was killed in a paragliding accident in Cape Town on the eve of their Pool B win against Fiji.
And Murphy says the group won't have to look far for motivation ahead of Friday's final against France, who beat England 52-31 in the other semi-final.
"It's obviously been a difficult couple of weeks. Greig's passing was particularly difficult, and Jack was with us in the group until Wednesday evening when he left.
"It was a difficult time for the boys, but Jack sent his support this morning and so did Fiona, Greig's wife, so I know they're at home and I know we're delighted to be able to bring him back something. No matter what happens in the final we'll be going home with something for Jack," he added.
