After an unspeakably difficult couple of days, Ireland somehow managed to compose themselves to beat Fiji and advance to the World Rugby Under-2src Championship semi-finals in South Africa as winners of their pool.
The contest took place against a tragic backdrop. Richie Murphy’s side were already playing the game wearing black armbands as a mark of respect following the deaths of two Irish teenagers in Greece, who were known to a number of the squad.
Then, on Monday evening, it was confirmed that Munster coach Greig Oliver, father of squad member Jack Oliver, had passed away after an accident in Cape Town, where he had been supporting his son.
The scrum-half was due to have been on the bench in Stellenbosch before the tragedy, with his team-mates taking part in a minute’s silence before kick-off.
Murphy spoke after the game of his admiration for how the group are dealing with such emotional turmoil and the response they showed on the pitch to secure such an important result.
“It’s a really strange day. I thought the guys did an incredible job. You could see how we were affected, though. Our accuracy was not where it would normally be,” he said.
“Greig was a great man, a friend of mine, and obviously Jack’s dad. Jack wanted to come to the game today. He’s here with the boys, and the boys are looking after him as best they can.
“Our strength is our te
…. to be continued
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