Andy Farrell has backed Conor Murray to silence his doubters ahead of tomorrow's final Guinness Six Nations meeting with Scotland at the Aviva Stadium.
The Munster scrum-half has taken the brunt of the criticism for last week's 23-22 defeat to England at Twickenham, after his kick to touch in the 79th minute gave England a lineout from which they launched their game-winning attack.
The 34-year-old keeps his place in the squad for this weekend's showdown with the Scots, as he looks to win a fifth Six Nations title.
On Thursday, Farrell expressed his disappointment at some of the online abuse some of his players had received in the wake of the defeat.
And he followed that up by specifically praising Murray's longevity in the game, which he believes has led to a begrudging attitude in some quarters.
"It's certainly unfair because this is the way of the world, and you’ll agree with me on this, that the more successful some people are, the more people - I don’t know what the word is - other than get p****d off with success, longevity, people staying at the top as long as they possibly can," he said.
"Everybody always wanting somebody else to come in and a new fresh young rookie to light everything up."
Murray, who turns 35 next month, will win his 116th cap for Ireland on Saturday, while he's played eight Tests for the British and Irish Lions across three tours.
And Farrell says he holds the veteran scrum-half in the highest regard.
"It takes an unbelievable amount of dedication and courage to stay at the top, and keep riding with the punches throughout a long career that's been so successful, for somebody with 120-odd caps like Conor.
"I can only marvel at somebody like that and when you ask me to describe what I think of him, it's right there in all that, isn't it?
"In regards to mental toughness, that's how it is. He's been there, seen it all and worn the badge. So, he's in good spirits," he added.
Having lost their opportunity for back-to-back Grand Slams last week, the fate of the championship is still in Ireland's hands, with the defending champions knowing a win or a draw would be enough to secure a second title in a row.
And Farrell is backing his side to produce their best game of the campaign.
"I'm not worried. In fact, I'd be super confident in the way we've reviewed the game, analysed it and got down to the bare bones of the reasons why and how it all accumulated to England having a deserved win, by a point in the end.
"I thought we was a bit off, as far as committing to absolutely everything we was going to do. I suppose that's across the whole of the game. When that's put in front of you, and we agree on that, you tend to want another chance to put that right.
"I love winning titles, there's no doubt about that, but this is an occasion for us to perform when it really matters. We said it in the Grand Slam game last year and we was able to get over the line but the performance wasn’t exactly white hot, so that’s what you’re always chasing.
"Of course winning matters a lot. Certainly winning Six Nations titles, however, means an awful lot, but having said that, we pride ourselves on performing well when it matters and I suppose that’s what we’ll judge ourselves on first," Farrell (below) added.
Like Ireland, Scotland are smarting over their own defeat in Round 4, letting a 12-point lead slip against Italy before eventually losing 31-29.
Gregor Townsend's side need a miracle to win the championship, but they can still claim a first Triple Crown since 1990 if they arrest their nine-game losing run to Ireland.
"They've been consistent at beating big teams over the years and playing a brand of rugby that's been great for everyone to see. I think they've been consistent in that.
"When you're disappointed, all you want is an opportunity where there's a trophy on the line, and I know that as far as the Triple Crown is concerned (for Scotland). They've not won that for some time now, and that makes them dangerous in our view. We've got to be ready for them to be as good as they've ever been against us.
"They're dangerous because, in my opinion, they want to play rugby in the right way.
"I think they've got a good balance. I actually think the set-piece has got good intent, the carrying game and the collision work has some real punch to it.
"But more than all that, they've got ambition to play the game and play into space, wherever that is, as quickly as they possibly can.
"So, as far as your reaction to that and counter-acting that, you've got to be on the ball. We’ve been lucky enough over the last few years to get on the right side of victory against Scotland but they’ve been tough, tough battles and hard-fought games, and you’ve got to be on point to make sure you continue in that manner."
Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch Wales v Italy in the Guinness Six Nations (2.15pm) and France v England (8pm) on Saturday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on France v England on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
Follow a live blog on Ireland v Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday from 4pm and listen to live commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
