Rory Best deserves special credit in the appreciation of Ireland's opening game win against Scotland, according to Alan Quinlan.
Best had come in for criticism in the warm-up games for the World Cup in Japan, but his role in their 27-3 win over the Scots is worthy of particular praise.
"Rory Best deserves special mention. We all questioned him in the last few weeks, and rightly so," said Quinlan to OTB AM.
"I know him pretty well from playing with him and have said this before: he is a very strong, resilient character. The last fifteen minutes were a tricky commentary because it was over.
"But I player-cammed Rory Best and I thought that the way he made tackles, the way he bounced up, the way he got back in position was fantastic.
"Ireland were on the front foot, but sometimes when they were hanging on and defending, he was making lots of tackles and moving incredibly well.
"He deserves credit for that."
It was by no means only his former teammate that Quinlan was praising after a victory that puts Ireland in the box seat for the remainder of the group.
"What really, really impressed me was the impact that the bench made.
"Bundee Aki, Peter O'Mahony and Johnny Sexton go off and the transition was seamless with the players that came on. I thought Luke McGrath was fantastic.
"Conor Murray had one of his best games in years. He showed why he is such a good player.
"Chris Farrell coming on for Bundee Aki, and even Garry Ringrose with the way he played, you could say that those guys may not have been involved [were it not for injuries.]
"Given the injuries that they had and the stuff that they had to deal with before and during the game - I thought it was fantastic."
Naturally, with a sympathetic group remaining, attention turns to the potential quarter-final with likely opponents South Africa.
"If [Ireland] get to a quarter-final with everybody fit and healthy, and they can build on the momentum - they will be in a good position then. Maybe Joe Schmidt can plot a one-off victory against South Africa then.
"I thought it was a wonderful performance. "
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