Heroic Heaslip hails ‘a special victory’

AT THE end of the Lions tour to South Africa in July, Jamie Heaslip promised the Springboks a hot welcome to Croke Park on the last Saturday of November.

And as Ireland brought his pledge to fruition, Heaslip enthusiastically celebrated the 15-10 victory over the world champions.

It was, he said, just one of three in the autumn programme Ireland wanted to win; but ‘a special victory’ all the same. He said: “while it probably meant a lot personally to those of us who toured South Africa with the Lions, it was also a triumph for others. It highlighted the ability of the players and the squad we have in Ireland, it showed we have generated the right mentality and, really, I’m happy with that performance for the guys from one to 22 and for the guys who were not out there, the guys who have been training with us over the last number of weeks.”