Prop Finlay Bealham feels Ireland have “lots to tidy up” ahead of a crunch Rugby World Cup clash with rivals Scotland.

Andy Farrell’s squad will resume training at their base in Tours on Thursday, having enjoyed some time off in the aftermath of Saturday evening’s physical 13-8 success over South Africa.

Despite the result, Ireland endured line-out struggles against the Springboks in Paris, while they were let off the hook by some wayward opposition goal-kicking.

Tighthead Bealham is ready to “get back on the horse” after the well-earned break and believes there is plenty of room for improvement ahead of a decisive pool B encounter with the Scots on October 7.

“There are certainly things to tidy up for sure,” he said. “We’ve a game against Scotland and we’ll fix up what we’ve got to fix up.

“A few things (against South Africa) didn’t go to plan and the resilience and the fight (was pleasing).

“Everyone was working for each other, (it’s a) special group and to be a part of it is an honour.

“We knew they would be a big challenge and we fronted up well, but certainly lots to tidy up.

“We’ll get back on the horse and get after it.”

Following the jubilation of defeating the defending champions, Ireland’s World Cup fate will be decided by further 9pm kick-offs at Stade de France.

Test rugby’s top-ranked nation still have work to do to secure a spot in the knockout stages and will play each of their remaining tournament matches – potentially four – in the French capital, beginning in late evening.

Australia-born Bealham believes it is important players switch off from rugby in the long hours leading up to kick-off in order to avoid “playing the game 10 times before it actually starts”.

“I’ve gotten better since I’ve got older,” the 31-year-old said of not overthinking matches during free time.

“We have such a tight-knit group, everyone knows what each other is like and you can go hang out with the lads and have a bit of craic, which takes your mind off the games.

“Especially these late kick-offs, you don’t want to be sitting in your room playing the game 10 times before it actually starts.”

For the third successive weekend, Ireland were backed by hordes of travelling fans, with wide-ranging estimates suggesting between 30,000 and 60,000 Irish supporters were in attendance in Saint-Denis.

“When you’re playing you notice it at times, but when we are doing the lap at the end, seeing all the Irish, it felt like a home game,” said Connacht player Bealham.

“The support we get from the fans is second to none. They are the best fans in the world.

“Lots of credit to them, we love our fans so much. To see them all there, the sea of green, it was class.”

Marcus Smith has developed into England’s fastest player over short distances, according to sprint student Jonny May.

Making his first start at full-back, Smith excelled in Sunday’s 71-0 rout of Chile that has placed unbeaten England on the brink of qualifying for the World Cup quarter-finals.

The 24-year-old Harlequins magician, a converted fly-half, conjured a dazzling solo touch down as part of an individual two-try haul and also offered an extra dimension in attack.

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While Smith’s creativity as a ball player is well established, the lightening-quick May has been caught by surprise by just how rapid he has become.

“Marcus’ acceleration is as good as anyone’s,” said May, who sharpened his own running technique with a spell at Michael Johnson Performance in Texas.

“Off the mark he’s frightening. Top speed he’s getting faster as well.

“His top speed is probably not like a winger yet, but he doesn’t need that.

“He is deadly in the outside channels. He’s as good as anyone out there.

“He has his famous goose-step and change of direction, and then acceleration which really is as fast as anybody’s here.

“He’s probably the fastest off the mark.”

Racing 92 wing Henry Arundell underlined his pace when plundering five tries against Chile, but even the squad’s most rapid player can not match Smith for sheer speed from a standing start.

When asked if Smith is faster than Arundell, May replied: “Yes, I think he is – off that 10-metre burst.

“For acceleration you want low heel-recovery – and that’s how Marcus runs. For top speed you want your legs to come up high, but for acceleration you want it to be low.

“He really does drive his knees and keeps his feet close to the ground.

“He just whizzes off the mark. He’s an acceleration guy and he’s quick at it.”

May first encountered Smith when the Brighton resident, who was making waves as an age-grade player, was invited by former head coach Eddie Jones to join an England camp on the south coast in 2017.

“I’ve actually been saying to Marcus, ‘mate you are physically blossoming’. It’s sort of sprung up on me,” the veteran Gloucester wing said.

“You forget he has been coming in with us since he was 16. We’d put a GPS on him and he’d be running around Brighton College with us.

“I don’t want to sound patronising but because he’s always been that little guy running round with us, it’s only now I’m realising he’s looking quick and that all of a sudden his legs are big.

“You start to come into yourself at 24. Rugby is bit of a late-development sport. He’s definitely coming into himself physically.

“He has put on a bit and his legs are looking good. People are whacking him and he’s spinning off them.

“He’s looking quick, he’s obviously fit and it’s crept up on me a bit. Suddenly I’m thinking ‘bloody hell, mate, good stuff’.”

Alex King has hailed the hard work of Wales’ Rugby World Cup squad and says their quarter-final achievement has been “four months in the making”.

It was towards the end of May that head coach Warren Gatland and his assistants began work with an extended training group.

That came on the back of a dismal Six Nations campaign, where Wales only avoided the wooden spoon by beating Italy in Rome.

Off-field issues in the Welsh professional game such as finances and contractual uncertainty for players, meanwhile, almost led to a full-blown national squad strike ahead of Wales’ Six Nations clash against England.

But the transformation quietly began at Wales’ training base in the Vale of Glamorgan, before punishing camps in Switzerland and Turkey moved preparations to another level.

A record 40-6 victory over Australia confirmed Wales’ place in the last-eight for the fourth World Cup in a row, setting up a probable appointment with Argentina in Marseille on October 14.

“I am just delighted for the lads,” Wales assistant coach and attack specialist King said.

“They have worked so hard – four months in the making. We are now in the quarter-finals, but we want to really focus on Georgia next week to finish top of the group.

“We know how hard that Georgia game is going to be, and then we can see what happens, going forward, after that.

“It was awesome (against Australia), wasn’t it? We knew how important the game was for both countries.

“We scored a really good try early on, and it probably settled a few nerves.

“We then just managed to get control of the game, our set-piece got on top and we managed to keep the scoreboard keep ticking over.

“When you are playing a team that is low on confidence, the game just goes away from them. We were able to establish a good lead and stay in control to the end.”

Two of Wales’ three tries came from impressive creativity, with Gareth Davies scoring the first following captain Jac Morgan’s break, then Gareth Anscombe’s superbly-placed kick into space being finished off by Nick Tompkins.

On Davies’ score, King added: “The guys work hard, and it is nice when one comes off like that.

“It’s hard to break down defences at this level because they’re so well organised, but Gareth Davies did the support line and Jac was superb. It set the tone, really, and gave us a foothold in the game.

“All the teams that are going to go far (in the World Cup) will bring a balance of structured and unstructured (play).

“We realise that it wasn’t perfect, and no game ever is, and realise we have things to build on. But it is a good foundation to build from.

“If there is anything, there is some work in the 22 we need to tidy up on.

“It is one of the hardest places to attack because you have got a front line of 15 defenders.

“I thought Gareth finding space in the back-field for Nick Tompkins was an example of where we can go to with our kick-space.

“There are always things to work on, and we want to get Louis (Rees-Zammit), Josh (Adams), Rio (Dyer) and Liam (Williams) on the ball as much as possible.

“Sometimes a game works out that way, sometimes it doesn’t. But that is the plan.”

Scott Cummings described Gregor Townsend as “a massive influence” on his career as he savours his second World Cup under the Scotland head coach.

The 26-year-old lock has enjoyed the most significant moments of his rugby journey under the man currently in charge of the national team.

Townsend was the Glasgow head coach when Cummings broke through and made his debut at club level as a teenager in 2015.

Two years later – and just months after landing the Scotland job – he gave the Warriors second-rower his first full international call-up for the Autumn Tests in 2017.

Townsend then handed Cummings his first cap in the summer of 2019 and took him to his first World Cup that year in Japan, where he made four appearances, aged 22.

The dependable Warriors forward has remained involved throughout the head coach’s reign and – although not always a starter – has accumulated 31 caps, two of which came in the opening matches of this World Cup against South Africa and Tonga.

“Gregor’s been massive for me,” he said. “World Cups have always been a good time for me. Eight years ago was when I made my debut for Glasgow, as we had about 22 guys away at the World Cup (in England in 2015).

“Gregor gave me my debut, and then I managed to get in the squad for the last World Cup, and then this one. He’s been a massive influence on my career and has helped shape me into the player I am.”

Asked if Townsend has evolved as a coach since he first played under him, Cummings said: “Yes, I think he probably has. The game has changed as much as anything.

“We play a different style to what we did back then. He has always been an attacking coach, something I like. I don’t want it to be slow. Gregor has always had a fast-paced game plan and I’ve really enjoyed playing under that.”

Cummings feels being at the previous World Cup has helped him deal with the demands of this one.

“Being in Japan was an amazing experience but now, being a bit older, I’ve understood what it means a bit more the second time round and the magnitude of it,” he said.

“We’ve loved being here. We had a fantastic camp (in the build-up) and a lot of fun, training hard and played in some tough games. I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

Cummings explained how the camaraderie within the squad has helped the players deal with the intensity of living together in their hotel in the hills just outside Nice for the best part of a month.

“It’s tough,” he said. “You’re coming in every day, doing the same sort of things, building towards the same stuff, living in a hotel.

“We’ve been in our hotel for about three weeks now. It’s just about not letting people go into their shells, going out for a meal sometimes on a day off.

“There’s a lot of PlayStation being played, getting tournaments going, things like that, keeping morale up as much as we can.

“A lot of players’ partners and families have been out, so they have been around the hotel, and people seeing their kids.

“The squad is in a great place. It’s been a real family ethos, we are all great mates who are all getting on and enjoying spending time with each other.”

Scotland have spent their entire World Cup so far in the south of France, with their time in Nice interrupted only by a trip along the coast to Marseille for their first match against South Africa.

They will fly to the other end of the country for this Saturday’s must-win encounter with Pool B minnows Romania in Lille.

“It should be a bit colder up there so it will be nice to get away from the sun for a bit and get out of the hotel, have a couple of days somewhere else, see a different part of the country,” said Cummings.

“France is an amazing country and I really enjoyed Marseille and staying out in Aix en Provence.

“It’s a lovely part of the country but it will be good to see somewhere else and not always be in Nice.”

Cummings has seen a familiar face added to the squad over the past few days, with his uncapped Glasgow club-mate Johnny Matthews called up at the weekend after hooker Stuart McInally had to pull out with a neck injury.

“Johnny had an amazing season last year, as anybody who follows the URC will know,” he said. “He’s been playing unbelievably well for Glasgow and it’s very well deserved.

“We’re all absolutely gutted for Stuart not to get that 50th cap he really deserved. But Johnny came out on tour with us last year to Chile, so he’s been in and around the squad before, and he massively deserves the opportunity. I am excited to hopefully see him play.”

Hugo Keenan hopes Ireland’s statement win against South Africa has eased “lurking” pressure of playing at Stade de France as they prepare for up to four more crunch World Cup fixtures at the venue.

Full-back Keenan revealed his partner thought he looked ill due to nerves ahead of Saturday’s thrilling 13-8 success over the reigning champions.

The 27-year-old’s only other Test outings in Paris ended in costly Six Nations defeats to France in 2020 and 2022.

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But Andy Farrell’s men ended their hoodoo at the home of French rugby to take control of Pool B moving towards a pivotal group-stage finale against Scotland on October 7.

Ireland’s World Cup destiny will be decided in Saint-Denis – the showdown with the Scots will also be staged there – in addition to each of their potential knockout matches, including the final.

Tournament debutant Keenan was riddled with anxiety at the prospect of arguably the biggest match of his career before helping to snap his country’s Paris losing streak.

“God, I was nervous, I met my girlfriend briefly (beforehand) and she thought I looked sick,” he said of facing the Springboks.

“I felt good once I got out there; it’s a pressure environment.

“Stade de France hasn’t been kind to us in the past. There’s a pressure lurking that we were keen personally and as a team from that loss to France last year to learn from.

“We’re just going to review this game and focus on Scotland; it’s the only thing we can control and we’re definitely not getting ahead of ourselves.”

Keenan’s second international cap was a 35-27 away loss to Les Bleus, which wiped Ireland out of title contention in the protracted 2020 Six Nations.

The Leinster player has been an almost ever-present since his Test debut and was part of the team ultimately denied a Grand Slam by a 30-24 defeat in the French capital in February last year.

While the second of those setbacks occurred in front of a partisan home crowd following a behind-closed-doors clash amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ireland were roared on to victory against the Springboks by tens of the thousands of travelling Irish fans.

“Jeez, that support was incredible,” said Keenan.

“The Irish crowd are amazing: the numbers, the amount of people who made the effort to get over here and support us – it made some difference.

“You need to harness it at the right times and I think the forwards did.

“I’m sure South Africa felt under the cosh at times when the 60-odd-thousand Irish fans are cheering for us, it does make a difference.

“There’s times you have to ignore it during play and just do your job, but you also have to embrace it and make the most of it.

“The walkaround after the game was incredibly special, I saw some familiar faces which makes it extra cool.”

France’s coaching staff have “no doubts” injured captain Antoine Dupont will be available to play in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup.

Scrum-half Dupont suffered a facial fracture on Thursday during his country’s 96-0 thrashing of Namibia.

The 26-year-old Toulouse player is due to report for training on Sunday, having undergone successful surgery.

Les Bleus assistant coach William Servat told a press conference on Tuesday: “Antoine is in great order today. The operation went very well, and he is resting.

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“He will return for training on Sunday. Friday and Saturday are our rest days, he will have the time to return in this period of time.

“I have no doubts about his ability to play in the quarter-final. I think it is reasonable to say that.”

France top Pool A following three successive victories and have a free weekend ahead of completing their group-stage fixtures on October 6 against Italy in Lyon.

The hosts are likely to face South Africa, Ireland or Scotland in the last eight of the tournament on the weekend of October 14-15 in Paris.

Uncapped Glasgow front-rower Johnny Matthews revealed he was stunned to get a call out of the blue on Saturday asking him to fly to France to join Scotland’s World Cup squad.

The 30-year-old was enjoying a day out in the Fife coastal town of Elie when assistant coach John Dalziel phoned to tell him his services were required after Stuart McInally suffered a neck injury and had to withdraw just over a week after the 33-year-old Edinburgh forward got his own late call-up to replace the concussed Dave Cherry.

Matthews – effectively the Scots’ sixth-choice hooker – rushed back to Glasgow to get himself organised and caught a flight to Nice on Sunday morning before being officially added to the squad.

“I’m buzzing to be here,” he said, speaking from the Scots’ training base in the south of France on Tuesday afternoon.

“I was very shocked to get the call but I’m obviously delighted and just looking to throw my hat into the ring to try to get some games while I’m here.

“I was in Elie with my wife and some good friends when I got the call from John. We were taking the dogs for a walk and when I saw John’s number pop up I knew he wasn’t phoning for a catch-up.

“He said ‘how quickly can you get to Nice?’ and now I’m here. It didn’t really feel real until I got here. It was a whirlwind 24 hours, trying to get packed, find my gumshield, get my boots and all the other stuff I needed.

“My boots were at (Glasgow’s home ground) Scotstoun, so I had to shoot there and get them to keep the place open. I then quickly packed and got on a 6am flight on Sunday morning.

“Once I finally got here and got the (Scotland World Cup) kit, that’s when it felt real. My wife flew out with me so she is loving it too.”

Liverpool-born Matthews – who qualifies for Scotland through his Blantyre-born mother – enjoyed an impressive season for Glasgow.

However, he knew it would be a tall order to make the initial squad, with George Turner, Ewan Ashman, Cherry, McInally and Fraser Brown all more established in the international fold.

Ultimately the misfortune of Cherry and McInally over the past few weeks, allied to an ACL injury sustained by Brown in May, paved the way for Matthews to land an unlikely crack at the biggest tournament in the game.

“My aim is to play for Glasgow, and if you do that, you’re always in contention for the Scotland squad I suppose,” he said when asked if the possibility of World Cup involvement had featured prominently in his thoughts.

“The more I played for Glasgow, the more my hopes got a little bit higher, but it’s a very hotly-contested position. There are five or six brilliant hookers in Scotland so I’m just happy to be here.

“I was hoping I had an outside chance of making it into the original training squad, but it’s a pretty settled group and there have been the same three, four or five hookers in the last x-amount of squads so I knew I’d have to do pretty well to get in.

“I was disappointed but it wasn’t a shock that I didn’t get in.”

With Matthews’ only international appearance to date coming for Scotland A against Chile in June 2022, he now has the chance to win his first full cap at a World Cup, with must-win pool games against Romania and Ireland to come over the next two weekends.

Asked if he ever thought his opportunity of playing for Scotland had passed him by, Matthews – a prolific try-scorer at club level – said: “You never say never – you just keep playing well for Glasgow, keep scoring and you’ve always got a chance I suppose.

“It’s a hotly-contested position but I’ll do all I can over the next few days and hopefully I can get in the (match-day) squad. Rugby is a pretty brutal and physical contact sport and hookers are at the coalface.

“I’m gutted for the boys who have missed out on the opportunity (due to injury) but at the same time you’ve got to look out for yourself and take the opportunity when it presents itself.”

Although he has not had the same intensive pre-season build-up that the rest of the Scotland players were subjected to, Matthews – who has thrived under Glasgow head coach Franco Smith – feels he is in good condition.

“I tried to keep myself in a shape that wasn’t round over the summer,” he smiled.

“I didn’t want to come into Franco’s pre-season unfit anyway. Anyone who has done one of them will tell you you can’t be unfit going into that.”

First-choice Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan is raring to go for the remainder of the Rugby World Cup after declaring his body is in “perfect” condition.

Question marks initially surrounded Sheehan’s participation in the tournament after he limped off with a foot issue during his country’s warm-up win over England on August 19.

The 25-year-old sat out bonus-point wins over Romania and Tonga before making his World Cup debut as a second-half replacement during Saturday evening’s memorable Pool B triumph over South Africa in Paris.

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Fit-again Sheehan is targeting further action when Ireland return to Stade de France on October 7 seeking to secure progression to the knockout stages in a “massive” clash with Scotland.

“For a first experience of a World Cup game, it doesn’t get much better, I don’t think, especially in a crowd like that,” he said, after his side were backed by tens of thousands of Irish fans against the Springboks.

“It’s definitely the best atmosphere I’ve played in. We fed off that a good bit.

“My body’s perfect now. I had a few weeks there where the medical staff did a great job to get me back in this time but I’ve no complaints at all now so I’ll be looking to get back into the squad.”

Victory over South Africa put Ireland in control of Pool B and propelled them to the cusp of the quarter-finals.

Yet Andy Farrell’s men, who are due to reconvene on Wednesday following a few days off, still have work to do to prevent a pool-stage exit.

Asked how much pressure beating the reigning champions takes off the Scotland match, Sheehan replied: “None. The job’s not done.

“We have a bit of luxury now that we have two weeks to lead up into the Scotland game but we can’t afford to take the foot off the gas at all.

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“The Scotland game is going to be massive. That’s obviously a massive win for us but nothing’s guaranteed at all so all eyes on Scotland now.”

The world’s number one team have won 16 matches in a row and suffered just two defeats in their last 30 outings.

Sheehan believes the remarkable run of results have helped enhance the unity in Ireland’s camp but insists Farrell’s squad must remain grounded.

“I think all of these big games bring you closer,” said the Leinster player, who is competing with provincial team-mate Ronan Kelleher and Ulster’s Rob Herring for a starting spot. “They add to the trust within the group.

“It definitely brings you tighter but you need to make sure you don’t get ahead of yourself and there’s a job to be done now against Scotland.

“We’ve huge confidence in our game plan and our approach to the games is really good. Our week’s prep has been on point for every game that we’ve won.

“We just double down on what we’re good at. We’re in a good place now and we just need to keep going.”

Wales scrum-half Gareth Davies says he is enjoying his rugby again during a World Cup campaign that has seen him produce record-breaking form.

Davies’ early touchdown in the 40-6 rout of Australia set a new World Cup best of eight tries for a scrum-half.

And it represents an impressive return to international rugby after he missed out on Wales’ South Africa tour last year, the 2022 autumn Tests and Six Nations campaign two months later.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland’s predecessor Wayne Pivac preferred players like Tomos Williams, Kieran Hardy and Dane Blacker in the scrum-half position.

And although Gatland was in charge for last season’s Six Nations, Williams, Hardy and Rhys Webb fought for the number nine shirt.

Crucially, though, a door opened for the 33-year-old when Gatland named Davies in the World Cup training squad, and he has not looked back.

He starred in the tournament warm-up victory over England and regained the number nine shirt for key Pool C wins against Fiji and Australia

“I love World Cups,” Davies said. “I love the build-up to them.

“It is the only time that we really get a full pre-season (with Wales). It has been a tough couple of months, but I have enjoyed it.

“Physically and mentally, I feel like I am in the best shape of my life. I am really enjoying my rugby again.

“We are all back to where we want to be under this management. We are fighting for each other, playing for each other and the environment is good, which is the main thing.

“We are enjoying our time off the pitch as well. We’ve got a good bunch of boys, and it shows.”

Davies, who made his Wales debut nine years ago and was the team’s starting scrum-half during the 2015 and 2019 tournaments, is once again excelling under Gatland’s direction.

He scored five tries at the 2015 World Cup, then two more in Japan four years later – including an interception effort in a pool-stage win against Australia.

“Warren has got his way,” Davies added. “It works for me and it obviously works for everyone else in the squad. It gets us all going.

“The other coaches as well, Mike (Forshaw) with defence, Kingy (Alex King) in attack and Humphs (Jonathan Humphreys) with the forwards. We’ve had a lot of changes with coaches, and I think that’s made the difference, to be honest.”

Wales’ crushing success against Australia secured a quarter-final place – the fourth World Cup in a row for them to achieve that under Gatland – and has set up a potential last-eight appointment with Argentina in Marseille on October 14.

“I thought our win in 2019 against Australia in the World Cup was big, but this is right up there,” Davies said.

“Momentum is key, especially in World Cups. We had a good week’s training preparing for the game, and I thought it showed on the pitch.

“We obviously won’t look too far ahead of ourselves. We have got a few days off to recover, and then we will focus on Georgia the following weekend.

“We have still got a job to do against them first, and then we will start looking at the quarter-final draw.”

Tom Curry has been pushing himself through a punishing training regime to ensure he is ready to face Samoa in England’s final World Cup group match.

Curry has played less than three minutes of the tournament in France after being sent off in the opener for a dangerous tackle against Argentina, resulting in a two-match suspension.

It continued his challenging start to the Steve Borthwick era, having missed the entire Six Nations and build-up campaign to the World Cup because of injury.

Now poised to make his comeback against Samoa on October 7, the squad’s most influential player in defence has been defying the instructions of England’s fitness guru Aled Walters to perfect his conditioning.

“Tom is a unique player in that I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone so fit, or so willing to work hard and put himself through pain,” scrum coach Tom Harrison said.

“He just seems to be able to enjoy it and keep going. There was a conditioning session the other day where he finished his reps and Aled Walters was shouting at him, ‘Get out, get out’. And he just carried on running.

“He just stayed in and carried on running. And when he did finally decide it was time for time for him to get out, he left the drill and Ellis Genge started hammering him for leaving the drill! And you just saw him getting so angry about it!

“He is in phenomenal shape. He has been brilliant. Unfortunately he was suspended, but he was brilliant by not going, ‘Oh I’m suspended for these two games’. Instead he went, ‘How can I help England win?’.

“And the work he was doing to help make training hard and difficult for the guys playing, and also the work he was doing with the back rows, to add his experience and his knowledge to our team meetings has been exceptional.”

Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley joked about spending his well-earned days off in Disneyland following the fairytale of sealing his country’s statement Rugby World Cup win against South Africa.

Test rookie Crowley capped a thrilling 13-8 victory over the reigning champions by calmly slotting a crucial late penalty after stepping off the bench to replace captain Johnny Sexton at Stade de France.

The 23-year-old was visiting Paris for the first time and had the chance to remain in the French capital for a brief escape from reality ahead of a turning his attention to a pivotal Pool B finale against Scotland on October 7.

Crowley, who expects the Scots to be “gunning” for Ireland, could not resist a light-hearted quip at the expense of his diminutive team-mate Craig Casey and some of the senior members of Andy Farrell’s squad, including 38-year-old Sexton, as he humorously imagined a group theme park visit.

“We have a few days off to recover because it has been a few intense weeks,” he said.

“(I’m going to) take it easy. Disneyland Paris! We have to get a pass for Craig though. There’s a few old-age pensioners as well. Yeah, maybe Disneyland, we’ll see.

“We go back in on Wednesday and the preparation begins for Scotland.

“I suppose they are going to grow throughout the competition, aren’t they?

“We have come against them in the Six Nations and they have been one the toughest competitors because of the way they play.

“Our eyes are firmly on them. I’m sure they will be gunning for us.”

Ireland led South Africa by just two points for the majority of a tense final quarter of Saturday’s epic encounter.

In front of massive Irish support, Crowley nailed a nerveless 77th-minute kick on the occasion of his eighth cap to alleviate mounting pressure before a heroic defensive effort secured success.

The Munster player revealed team-mate James Lowe was audibly counting down the seconds on the shot clock ahead of the conversion to eat into the time the Springboks would have to hit back.

He described the physicality of a bruising contest as “through the walls”, while playing down his “nice easy penalty” on an evening when the opposition’s wayward goal-kicking proved costly.

Speaking of his key contribution, which came four seconds inside the permitted time, Crowley said: “(It was) pretty special.

“When you’re sitting on the bench looking up at the clock as the time is dwindling away, you see the magnitude grow larger.

“It was a proper Test match. The physicality was through the walls.

“When you’re coming on you’ve got to know the magnitude of the game and the responsibility.

“I got a nice easy penalty in front of the posts. If I’d missed that I think you’d be saying a different story to me. But that’s the gig.”

While Ireland have a weekend off, South Africa face Tonga on Sunday with work to do.

Crowley suggested the world’s top two teams could meet again in the final at the end of next month.

“They’re a World Cup-winning side because they disrupt team’s plans,” he said.

“They play rugby the way they want to play and that’s how they won a World Cup just by doing that.

“We knew since we played them in November last year (a 19-16 win for Ireland) just what a challenge this was going to be.

“You’ve got to trust your plan and as a coaching staff and players we all bought into it and thankfully in the end we got the result but it’s not easy.

“And I’m sure we won’t see the last of them in the competition.”

Kyle Sinckler admits his relief at winning a race against time to be fit for England’s World Cup having succeeded in convincing Steve Borthwick that his body would not let him down.

Sinckler tore the pectoral muscle in his chest during the build-up to the final warm-up Test against Fiji in August, plunging his participation in France 2023 into doubt.

It resulted in veteran Dan Cole rolling back the years to start the opener against Argentina at tighthead prop and, eight days later, Sinckler’s promise to his head coach was honoured when he was given the all clear to face Japan.

“For me there’s a massive amount of appreciation and gratitude to be back out there because it was kind of touch and go,” the 30-year-old Bristol front row said.

“The scan came back and it didn’t look great but I knew it would be fine. Fair play to the medical staff and Steve for trusting me and to say: ‘I know my body, I am going to be fine’.

“And thank you to my team who work for me off the field. They have really stepped up and helped me and I have been on recovery 24/7 since that game so I am just very grateful to be here and hopefully get to do my thing again.

“I was keen to play against Japan and then to get the start against Chile, that was pretty cool.

“I’m just grateful to be here – my second World Cup and my 13th or 12th year playing professional rugby.”

England’s reliance on Will Stuart early in August’s warm-up fixtures suggested that Sinckler was no longer undisputed first choice for the number three jersey – a position he has held since 2018.

His torn pec exacerbated the situation but, two games into his return, he is expected to start the final Pool D match against Samoa in Lille on October 7. And he will do so knowing the demands on the modern prop are greater than ever.

“The only thing that is not expected from me is to kick and take high balls! The role has changed since I first came on the scene,” Sinckler said.

“The way I played tighthead prop, a lot of people said: ‘You can’t do it that way,’ because of my ball-carrying, tips, chasing. I had to really work hard on my scrummaging because that didn’t come naturally.

“Now it’s: ‘We want you to make 10 carries, we want you to make 10 tackles, we want you to get two or three scrum penalties, we want you to be strong in the kick chase, we want you to hit the rucks’. The standard is high and that is what I expect of myself.”

Stuart McInally declared it “a privilege” to have been able to end his rugby career at the Rugby World Cup with Scotland as he confirmed he has now retired from the game.

The 33-year-old hooker has endured a roller-coaster of emotions since he first announced in April his plan to retire after the global showpiece to pursue a new career as an airline pilot.

McInally, who captained Scotland at the last World Cup, looked on course for a fairytale career swansong in France this autumn when he was named in the provisional 41-man training squad in May but he suffered the anguish of being cut from the group when Gregor Townsend named his final 33 in August.

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McInally then got called out to France as cover for the concussed Ewan Ashman in the first week of September but he returned home when his fellow hooker recovered.

There was another twist in the tale when Dave Cherry fell on the stairs at the team hotel and suffered a tournament-ending concussion a fortnight ago, just after McInally had flown back to Scotland, so the long-serving Edinburgh forward was summoned back out to officially join the squad.

Agonisingly, however, just over a week after being added to the fray – and without playing a match at the tournament – he suffered a neck injury in training on Wednesday and it was revealed on Sunday night that he had been forced to withdraw from the squad and would not be able to win his elusive 50th cap.

McInally, who won the first of his 49 caps in 2015, posted a message on Instagram on Monday evening confirming that his “rugby story is over”.

“When I was at school I had a dream: to play rugby for Scotland,” he wrote. “That dream came true and I’ve had the time of my life.

“As Luke Patience (the British Olympic sailor) once said to me ‘it’s the arena that holds all of your hopes and dreams, but also your worst fears and nightmares’. And he wasn’t joking.

“Like all sportspeople, my story contains a mixture of highs and lows. On reflection, the good times have, overwhelmingly, outweighed the struggles and I wouldn’t change my journey. It has shaped who I am today.

“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to my career. There are far too many to name and I am forever grateful.

“And lastly thank you to the supporters. Without you, my dream of captaining and Scotland singing the national anthem at a sold-out Scottish Gas Murrayfield doesn’t happen.

“It was a privilege to end my career being being part of the 2023 Scotland Rugby World Cup squad and, for now, my rugby story is over.

“It’s time to start the next one.”

McInally’s message concluded with the emojis of an aeroplane and a pilot.

Gareth Anscombe admits there is an element of relief after Wales avoided a fight to the finish in their quest for a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place.

Wales’ record-breaking 40-6 victory over Australia meant they got the job done early in Pool C.

They preserved their 100 per cent record with one game still remaining – against Georgia next week – leaving other teams, led by Fiji, to fret over reaching the knockout phase.

Had Wales lost, it would have been a different story and meant them being caught up in a nervous scramble for two available places.

“It is probably relief. I don’t like that saying that, but we knew there was a lot on it,” Wales fly-half Anscombe said.

“We knew if we didn’t win we would go into the last week not quite having control. It is really rewarding because we do so much hard work.

“We’ve got a tricky little number in Georgia to finish off, and we definitely won’t overlook them, but it is nice to be in control of the group.”

Anscombe went on for an injured Dan Biggar after just 12 minutes in Lyon, and he promptly took charge, kicking six penalties, a drop-goal and conversion.

His 23-point haul equalled Biggar’s record for most points by a Wales player in a World Cup match, although the 32-year-old would have set a new mark had he not missed a straightforward conversion following captain Jac Morgan’s late try.

“‘Biggsy’ reminded me that apparently the last kick was to beat his record, so I am hacked off I have only tied that,” Anscombe added.

“Dan is a great man and we get along so well, but he has given me a bit of stick about that!”

Biggar looks likely to miss the Georgia game because of a strained pectoral muscle, but there are no suggestions at this stage that he could be doubtful for a potential World Cup last-eight clash against Argentina in Marseille seven days later.

“We know how important Dan is for the group, particularly on and off the field with the energy he brings,” Anscombe said.

“It was just really important when I went on that I brought some control and steadied the ship like he does so well.

“We always talk about nailing our roles, and all I was thinking about was making sure I was accurate and bringing some control.

“What was great was that we kept the scoreboard ticking. We have to give a lot of credit to our forwards. We squeezed them at set-piece time, took the points on offer and kept the scoreboard ticking off the back of that.

“I felt like I was building quite nicely in the summer (training) camps, and then I broke my hand. I thought at one point it was my World Cup done.

“I owe a lot of thanks to the team behind the scenes here. The medical team did a fantastic job to get me back on the field, and the coaching staff backed me without much game-time.

“There is still so much to work on from a personal perspective, but it was so nice to spend some time in the big arena.”