Donal Lenihan gave his views on the Ireland v France RWC pool match at the Millennium Stadium.
Ireland booked a quarter-final against Argentina after a 24-9 win but victory came at a high cost, with potentially tournament-ending injuries to Paul O’Connell and Johnny Sexton.
Lenihan praised the extraordinary efforts of the men left on the field, who pulled together to put in an astonishing second-half performance to clinch the win.
“To a man, each and every one of them were sensational,” he said.
“The crowd sensed the effort from the players on the field and the manner in which they got behind the team lifted them to even greater heights when the game was tight.”