IT WAS A special season for Irish rugby with Joe Schmidt’s men capturing a 6 Nations title as well as scalping two southern hemisphere powerhouses in the autumn.
Nine wins out of ten is a spectacular return by any measurement and here are some of the best photos from one of Ireland’s most successful season’s.
Ireland 28-6 Scotland
Joe Schmidt prepares for his first 6 Nations game as coach
Rob Kearney stretches for a try
Marty Moore gets his first cap after the game
Ireland 26-3 Wales
Leigh Halfpenny almost shaves Gordon D’Arcy’s beard with his studs
Cian Healy celebrates Chris Henry’s try
Paul O’Connell guffawed at the thought of Wales contending for the 6 Nations
England 13-10 Ireland
Joe Schmidt laughs off Dylan Hartley’s come-and-get-me plea
Jonny May drops a clanger early on
The fans belted out Ireland’s Call with gusto
Rob Kearney scored a brilliant try straight from the training paddock
Brian O’Driscoll’s last game at Twickenham ended in defeat
Ireland 46-7 Italy
This Italian fan is a hero
Andrew Trimble claims he got the ball down
Brian O’Driscoll leaves the Aviva as an Ireland player for the last time
France 20-22 Ireland
Johnny Sexton scores a try for Ireland
Mathieu Bastareaud bulldozes through the Irish defence
The Irish team celebrate with the 6 Nations trophy
The win allowed Brian O’Driscoll to go out on top
Argentina 17-29 Ireland
Johnny Sexton’s try-scoring form continued
Argentina 17-23 Ireland
Simon Zebo was back in the Ireland squad for the summer tour
Darren Cave was hoping to impress Joe Schmidt
Ireland 29-15 South Africa
Devin Toner claims a lineout
Rhys Ruddock peels off a maul to score just after half time
Jared Payne made his international debut at 13
Ireland 49-7 Georgia
Mike Ross and Dave Foley got some light reading in beforehand
Dave Kilcoyne made a few trademark bursts
Dominic Ryan and Dave Foley made their Ireland debuts
Ireland 26-23 Australia
Simon Zebo finished a try off excellently early on
Johnny Sexton kicks the winning penalty
Peter O’Mahony celebrates at this final whistle
This Fijian offload answers the question of what it would look like if an octopus played rugby
You’re the boss: Pick your first-choice Ireland 23 for the World Cup