There's no Stephen Ferris this week for one of our Balls.ie rugby chats - in association with Ladbrokes - but we have a fine stand-in in Ian Madigan, who sat down with us to discuss Ireland's World Cup win over South Africa and what it means for this team.
The high-point of Madigan's international career came when he guided Ireland to famous win over France at the 2015 World Cup, and the sight of the out-half's joy at the full-time whistle was a lasting image of the campaign.
However, the jubilation did not last long with Ireland convincingly beaten by Argentina in the quarter-finals - not helped, of course, by a catastrophic injury/suspension list - with the side seemingly unable to recapture the fervour of the France game.
To describe the difficulties of regaining composure after such a big high, Madigan referenced a very apt quote from Shane Lowry, which was discussed by Gordon D'Arcy in the Irish Times yesterday.
I read Gordon Darcy's article this morning and he quoted Shane Lowry saying 'lots of people will guide you up to the top of the mountain or the top of Everest, but there's not many people that will guide you on the way back down.'
And, as we both know, unfortunately the majority of people die on the way back down.
So without getting too morbid, this Irish team reached a new height by beating the world champions in a World cup.
It's without doubt Ireland's biggest ever win in a World Cup.
Ian Madigan During Ireland Vs France At The 2015 Rugby World Cup
11 October 2015; Ireland's Ian Madigan celebrates at the final whistle. 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool D, Ireland v France. Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales. Picture credit: Matt Browne / SPORTSFILE
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Ireland's victory over South Africa did have similarities to the France win 2015, with the wild Irish crowd and the celebrations from the team both during and after the game, which were also totally normal and understandable given the circumstances.
Will Ireland suffer a similar fate and fall into the same trap as they did eight years ago? Madigan reckons not, and pinpoints the reason why this Ireland is different from others.
"And what's different about this Irish team versus the one I played in in 2015," he says
"This team has tasted success multiple times over the last four years, and each time they've tasted success it's driven them on to be even better.
"It's made them hungrier for more success, and I just can't see Scotland getting in the way of that in two weeks time."
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