The only thing that denied Ireland’s place in the last four was the flawed structure of the tournament which has resulted in two of the best four teams heading home in advance of the semi-finals.

Our rugby analyst on the three big factors heading into Saturday's mouth-watering Ireland v New Zealand World Cup quarter-final.

Irish fans will again fill the Stade de France on Saturday night for the mouth-watering meeting with the All Blacks.

The only downside on the night was a worrying injury toll with both wingers, Mack Hansen and James Lowe, absent for the entire second half

Now is the time for Andy Farrell's side to reap the rewards of their hard work

Memories are for retirement. Lose to Scotland on Saturday night, or to New Zealand in a quarter final, and the events surrounding that Paris pool win over the Springboks will be tinged with regret

The Aussies don’t like losers and are quick to abandon non-achievers.

In the context of a World Cup, Ireland hasn't experienced a night like this since taking our first big southern hemisphere scalp at a World Cup when beating Australia on a wonderful evening at Ellis Park in Auckland back in 2011.

Assessing the biggest game so far at the 2023 Rugby World Cup: Everything is predicated on the capacity of the Irish forwards to cope with South Africa's set-piece onslaught

Travelling around France, our columnist finds himself in La Rochelle, with its coffee shops, restaurants and a magnificent food market reminiscent in so many ways of Cork's own English Market