That was not how he would have wanted to go out. Ireland were embarrassed by the All Blacks today and it's very hard to look beyond that right now.
At the same time, Rory Best and Joe Schmidt leave the scene today after combining for a Grand Slam among a lot more in their time as the coach/captain tandem. While Irish fans are understandably disappointed and even angry with the performances of 2019, there was still a desire to say goodbye to two great servants in the aftermath of today's game.
Rory Best found it difficult to speak over the noise of the Irish fans twice during his interview on the field after the game.
Pure emotion from @IrishRugby's Rory Best
What a warrior he has been 💪👏
Hear his reaction to the Quarter Final defeat #RWC2019 #NZLvIRE #RWCTokyo pic.twitter.com/v1WQBlqfma— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 19, 2019
It's difficult to separate the emotion and anger over a really awful World Cup and the personal connection to players and coaches. The Irish fans in the stadium in Japan today felt the need to honour Best after a phenomenal 14 year Ireland career. This World Cup is a blot on his record for sure, but it doesn't define it, and this was a fitting send off.
The postmortem begins here for Irish rugby, and it's time for a new era. There is a lot of work to do given the performances of the last 12 months. Whatever happens next, it will be done without Rory Best.
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