It was somewhat lost in the heartbreak of Saturday night's quarter-final defeat for Ireland but, in the midst of it all in Paris, Keith Earls exited stage left.
One of the all-time great players in an Irish shirt, Earls' immediate retirement was confirmed shortly after full-time of an epic last eight clash with New Zealand, which saw the All Blacks run out 28-24 winners.
Earls only played in one of Ireland's games at this tournament, starting the opener against Romania. Head coach Andy Farrell had hoped that Earls might get a chance to play once again should Ireland reach a semi-final and the wing recovered from injury on time - neither will come to fruition.
With Johnny Sexton playing his final game of professional rugby on Saturday, there was a sense of eras ending at the Stade de France, and both men will be remembered as immense figures in the modern history of Irish rugby.
Speaking to the media after the game, Earls' former Munster teammate Paul O'Connell gave a fitting ode to the departing wing, and summed up just how important his work off the pitch would be in the future.
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Paul O'Connell pays tribute to retiring Keith Earls
Paul O'Connell shared a pitch with Keith Earls on many occasions in both the red of Munster and the green of Ireland, but his connection with Earls goes back even further.
🗣 "Keith - What a great example for young people."
🗣 "Johnny - An incredible piece of stuff."
Paul O'Connell pays tribute to Keith Earls and Johnny Sexton following their retirements after Ireland's World Cup exit.#IREvNZL | #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/yynu4SoQoA— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) October 14, 2023
In his post-match interview with Virgin Media, O'Connell revealed that a young Earls would often attend Munster training while his dad Ger lined out for the side, and that he had known Keith for about 20 years.
O'Connell praised Earls, and said that it had been a "pleasure" watching him grow from strength to strength - and went on to say that his work in speaking openly about his mental health issues would be just as important a legacy as what he did on the pitch:
I've known Keith since he was about ten years of age. I played with his dad, so he used to be at training with us when he was young.
It's been a pleasure to watch him throughout his career, I think he's been a great example to people in terms of his professionalism and the way he plays the game and how he's looked after himself.
He's a great example in terms of how he's spoken about some of his struggles. What a great example for young people. There's plenty of young people struggling with mental health in the country, it's fantastic.
We actually spoke about it a few months ago, what a great mentor he's been for the back three players within the team.
The legacy he has of giving to the team and giving to other people is a great example.
Keith Earls retires with 101 caps and 36 tries for Ireland.
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