Ireland head coach Andy Farrell feels the togetherness of his squad has been key to the progress of three Six Nations victories in a row after suffering an opening night defeat to France.
A hard-earned 27-17 bonus-point win over Wales in Dublin on Friday night set up a Triple Crown decider against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on 14 March, with both sides also harbouring title aspirations going into the final round of fixtures.
Ireland have used 33 players in this year’s championship so far but Farrell says there is a solidarity among the group which is driving the squad on.
“You’ve got to find out about people but these [caps] are not freebies – we’ve given starts and the chances out to people who deserve it.
“It just shows that the whole of the squad is hungry to be part of it, and grow the squad.
“It’s nice to feel that the whole squad thinks it’s their team and that they’re all trying to contribute to us pushing forward.”
Farrell singled out some of the players who particularly impressed him in the victory over the Welsh, many having also contributed positively in the emphatic win over England at Twickenham two weeks previously.
“For people to back up good performances at this level that haven’t had that much exposure, that’s pretty impressive,” he said.
“We’re probably talking about Robert Baloucoune. To have a performance like he did in the last game and then to back it up this week is what you want.
“I thought Jack Conan, he’d have been a bit peeved off [after missing the England game because of illness], so to get his start he showed up really well.
“I thought Josh [van der Flier] was good coming off the bench, Joe McCarthy was really good coming off the bench, so it’s good to keep rolling with a few people and they get more consistency of performance at this level.”