Last year's win against New Zealand took more out of Brittany Hogan than she had ever experienced in her rugby career.
If Ireland are to pull off a repeat of last year’s epic win this weekend, she knows it will take even more.
It’s not hyperbole. The stats back it up.
Hogan made 19 tackles that night in Vancouver, more than any other Irish player, while only Niamh O’Dowd and Aoife Wafer logged more carries.
"I always say that when we played New Zealand last year it was the hardest game I've ever played in my life," the Ireland number 8 said ahead of Sunday’s Rugby World Cup Pool C decider against the Black Ferns (2.45pm, live on RTÉ).
"We all are all well aware that we're going to have to go to the well at the weekend, so we're fully prepared to have a big shift."
The 26-year-old (below) has had to go to the well already in this World Cup.
After a player of the match display against Japan, she was named among the replacements for last Sunday’s game against Spain, and was called in after just over 20 minutes when Sam Monaghan departed with a hip issue, but led Ireland with 14 carries despite only playing 56 minutes.
The games are only getting tougher, with the defending champions this weekend followed by a quarter-final, and if they win that they’ll be staying in England for two more matches.
Hogan insists there’s still plenty of petrol left in the tank.
She said: "To be fair, it was a very high ball-in-play game [against Spain]. And Spain had so much possession on pick and goes, you just rack up tackles, you rack up those meters."
With 36 caps to her name, the Blackrock and Ulster back row has been one of Scott Bemand’s most trusted forwards since he took charge two years ago, in part down to her ability to move between number 8 and blindside flanker.
Wafer is yet to appear at this World Cup, so Hogan has been leaned on heavily across both sides of the ball in the opening two games, leading Ireland’s tackle (34) and carry (26) charts, while her 120 carry metres are the highest of any forward in the squad.
"I've been trying to put myself into more of a ball carrying role because that's just the way that my game has developed," she said.
"It's become sort of a strength of mine that the team and the coaches like to utilise.
"So that comes hand in hand with [Aoife] Wafer, and if I have to latch Wafer, no problem. She's an incredible asset to our team.
"Whenever she's gone, if I have to have a couple more carries I will, but we are spreading that across the team pretty well.
"[It has been] organic, it just comes with my physical adaptations the past year and my awareness of the game and trying to just put my hand up and say, 'I'm carrying’ and people come around me.
"I love carrying the ball. Give it to me any day. I'll do it. No problem."
Almost a year on from that thrilling 29-27 win against New Zealand, the memories are still as vivid as ever.
"It is going to be like that, essentially like a Croke Park feeling for these girls"@HannahOConnor22 on the unique vibe that will wait Ireland against New Zealand at Brighton's Amex Stadium #RWC2025
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"The scrum in the midfield," Hogan said, when asked for her abiding memory.
"And just saying to girls, all of us looking each other in the eyes and saying, ‘Right, New Zealand are going to come for us here, lock in and give it absolutely everything that you can’.
"That moment and then Dannah [O’Brien] kicking it off, and just shock and then the changing-room afterwards.
"I suppose it kind of kick-started our belief behind the group, behind the girls, behind the coaching staff.
"It kick-started the IRFU putting loads more funding, loads more investment into us, everybody was on our train and on our wavelength then.
"And I think that just after that New Zealand game, we knew that we could do it internally, but externally I think that just like put a rocket boost behind the team."
Twelve months on from providing 2024's biggest shock in rugby, what are the chances they do it again?
"We have that belief behind us that we are capable of doing it [again], and we're more than capable of doing it, but we are well aware that New Zealand are a world class outfit and it's going to be an incredibly tough game.
"If we come out with the right side of the scoreboard afterwards, great, if we don't, that's fine as well.
"But we all have that full belief and confidence that we are going to be able to pack a good performance and hopefully a good show for the crowd.
"We know that they are able to show up in these competitions and they always do. I suppose that kind of fear factor wasn't really there [last year].
"We were more underdogs, we kind of had that, well, we've got nothing to lose kind of factor.
"We've taken away the element of surprise. So now we just have to work that little bit harder."
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