Ireland believes they can significantly improve as they prepare for a crucial matchup with Scotland in Paris.
In order to win Pool B for the third time in a row, Andy Farrell’s team defeated the reigning champions, South Africa, underscoring their Rugby World Cup pedigree.
Ireland moved into the quarterfinals on Saturday night at Stade de France after a thrilling 13-8 victory, but they will likely need to beat Scotland on October 7 at the same place to advance further.
Following a rousing performance against the Springboks, players are currently enjoying a few days free and feel they can and must perform better.
“There is such a strong belief in what the players are doing,” defense coach Simon Easterby said. They continually offer themselves up.
“We won the game (against South Africa), but there are many things we could do better, and the feeling in the locker room reflects that.
“We’re pretty happy with a lot of the performance’s elements, but we know we can do better.
The games will become harder.
“There have been a few events over the past couple of seasons that have given the men faith in what we’re doing.
“I guess this is another step in the direction of what we’re all hoping to try to accomplish over the next few weeks.
“We honestly believe that we can improve and that improving is necessary as the competition progresses. We need to improve because we have more potential.
Ireland is in first place in their group with 14 points after securing impressive wins over Tonga and Romania for bonus points in front of tens of thousands of Irish supporters in the French city.
Even so, Scotland and the Springboks have a chance to keep the top-ranked Test rugby nation from moving on to the knockout stages.
With victories over all of their significant rivals over the last two years, including last summer’s historic tour victory over the All Blacks, Six Nations winners Ireland have demonstrated, according to Easterby, that they are a team for big occasions.
Regarding the weekend outcome, he stated, “That’s not a one-off.” “That doesn’t surprise us since we’ve done it in New Zealand and during the autumn series against South Africa last year.
“I guess the players had to get their heads around the degree of toughness and ferocity of the game these days, and to a man, they did that.
“Make sure you take pleasure in these occasions.
“Those of us who were fortunate enough to be at the stadium will remember that type of support for a long time,” said the supporters.
