For those of a certain age, it's difficult to comprehend how good a footballer Paul McGrath was at his prime.
While his performance in Giants Stadium against Italy will long live in the memory of Irish fans, it was in England where his true value shone through.
Speaking to Miriam O'Callaghan on RTÉ on Saturday evening, former Wales and Liverpool striker Ian Rush was asked who was the toughest player he ever played against.
He was in no doubt that it was the Dubliner.
"Weirdly enough he was Irish, [and played for] Manchester United, Paul McGrath,", Rush revealed.
"What a player" @Ian_Rush9 reveals to @MiriamOCal that one of his toughest ever opponents was none other than @Paulmcgrath5! pic.twitter.com/v35WheNTIq
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) July 29, 2017
"I'll tell you how good Paul McGrath was. Manchester United was the only club in the Premier League I had not scored against and I think it was like 15 games before I had scored against Manchester United."
"And this Paul McGrath - very shy, never said a word on the pitch. So after every game, Paul McGrath - this softly spoken voice would come over and say 'thank you very much Mr. Rush'. That bugged me more than not scoring."
"I remember the first time I did score against Manchester United, I thought it was great because it stopped them winning the league [in April 1991]"
"I remember Ronnie Whelan was running over to me and I went 'Where's that Paul McGrath now?' He went: 'He's playing for Aston Villa you idiot.'"
"But that goes to show how good Paul McGrath was. What a player."
Whelan wasn't involved in the 2-0 win that day, but it shows how feared Paul McGrath was in his prime at both Manchester United and Aston Villa.
