Andy Farrell was in jubilant mood after Ireland's tense 13-8 Rugby World Cup win over South Africa, while acknowledging that precious little separated the two sides in a game that could have gone either way.
Securing top spot in Pool B now looks highly likely, and with it a quarter-final clash against New Zealand, unless Italy pull off the mother of all shocks in their Pool A finale against the hosts.
However, the errant boots of Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk played a pivotal role in Ireland's win, with four kicks on goal and 11 points going a begging.
"Wow, that was some atmosphere and if that's a sign of things to come we're going to be looking forward to the next game and hopefully that pushes us on in the competition," Farrell told RTÉ Sport after the final whistle at the Stade de France.
"It was the type of game that we all thought it was going to be. It was attritional, obviously, and a game of two halves.
"I thought we dominated field position in the first half and didn't really convert the pressure that we had. It's probably the same as far as South Africa are concerned.
"I think we all know that there were two good teams going at it and there's not much between them."
Despite the celebratory moody in Saint-Denis, the Ireland coach attempted to keep a lid on expectations and described the victory as merely the "next stage in our journey", adding "it's a pool stage win and that's what it is. I kept on saying that the points on offer against Romania and Tonga were the same. We're glad to keep rolling and get another four points.
"We'll get through the medicals in the morning and hopefully we can enjoy a few days break because it's come at a nice time."
Captain Johnny Sexton said the victory ranked "right up there" among his biggest days with Ireland but he wants the team to ensure they use it as a springboard to break the quarter-final hoodoo.
"They're an outstanding team and really well coached," the 38-year-old said of the Springboks. "They make life so difficult for you at set-piece, breakdown and the physical part of the game.
"It was a proper Test match and they’re always decided on the bounce of a ball or a kick here or there.
"We’re delighted to get the win. I think we were a little bit lucky at times as well, but hopefully we’ll keep improving.
"Hopefully the difference with this one is that we’ll be able to use it to go further than we have before.
"It won’t mean anything if we don’t get a result in our last game. We have to go and do it against Scotland again."
