VIDEO: Fans hope to lift Ireland to victory

The kick-out from Darren Randolph parted the German sea for Shane Long’s miracle — and now comes the exodus.

Tens of thousands of Irish sports fans are expected to flock to Wales and Poland as the nation’s rugby and soccer teams prepare for tomorrow’s decisive clashes with France and Poland respectively.

Dublin Airport said Ireland’s Rugby World Cup Pool D decider led to a total of 80 flights being added to accommodate almost 11,000 supporters heading to Cardiff, while thousands more are expected to fly into Warsaw for the final game in the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

Aer Lingus said is has increased capacity on its flights to Cardiff, Bristol, and Warsaw to meet the demand.

“This weekend will see close to 6,500 people flying with Aer Lingus to either Cardiff, Bristol, or Warsaw and we expect the upcoming rugby and football matches to be the reason for travel for the majority,” a spokesperson for Aer Lingus said.

“Almost 5,500 guests will fly Aer Lingus this weekend from Dublin to Cardiff, from Dublin to Bristol and from Cork to Bristol to cheer on the Irish rugby team.

“We have also added extra flights from Dublin to Warsaw, transporting more than 1,000 guests and following the terrific win against Germany, demand has been extremely high.”

Regardless of tomorrow’s outcome, Ireland’s place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final is secure, and already airlines are preparing for the increased demand for seats.

The result against France will determine whether Joe Schmidt’s team will play their quarter-final next Saturday or the following afternoon, but Ryanair said they are prepared for either eventuality.

“With Ireland through to the quarter-finals, we’re ready to schedule an extra return flight from Dublin to Cardiff. If Ireland beat France, we’ll have an extra return flight for Sunday, October 18, and if they lose, we’ll put on extras on Saturday, October 17,” Ryanair’s Robin Kiely said.

RTÉ revealed almost 1.6m viewers tuned in to RTÉ2 throughout the course of its coverage of Ireland’s famous win against Germany on Thursday night.

The TV audience peaked at more than 1.1m between 9.30 and 9.45pm, when viewers tuned in to watch the nail-biting conclusion as Martin O’Neill’s men held out for a historic win against the World Cup holders.

Weekend Sport