As one of four starters in Twickenham who got to go again from the start on Saturday, Jacob Stockdale knew he had to step up.
The 23-year-old was withdrawn at half-time but his brace of tries against Wales brought his impressive strike rate to 16 in 21 Tests.
And Ireland needed those tries to withstand a final quarter onslaught from a Rhys Patchell inspired home side.
Not surprisingly, the quartet - skipper Peter O'Mahony, Bundee Aki, Iain Henderson and Stockdale - all produced strong performances.
"It was definitely a case that we let ourselves down as much as anything last week and we let an awful lot of other people down," saud Stockdale.
"We just wanted to make sure that we changed that - we'd a bit of a point to prove. It was nice to get back to scoring ways and play well.
"Obviously the disappointment of last week was a bit of a knock to the confidence.
"As a group we reacted very well, we decided to just flip it around, work really hard on what we’re good at and we’re starting to get back on those tracks again.
“To be honest, there hasn’t really been an awful lot of doubt because we know we’re a really good team and we’re good enough to do well. It’s just a matter of putting it onto the pitch."
Stockdale added: "We were 22-3 up at one point and we finished 22-17 so there’s a good few learning points and a good few work-ons.
"So we are nowhere near the finished product but it was a good stepping stone to where we want to go to.
"It didn't all go right, but we're definitely back on the right track."
Stockdale is acutely aware of the bad news coming today for a number of players who won't be travelling to Japan.
"It's really tough to have to say goodbye to a few players considering how hard everybody has worked, and how well some lads went out there on Saturday," he confessed.
"So, look, naturally in sport there will always be people who are disappointed. We're close mates, we'll make sure we support each other.
"The World Cup is seven weeks long, hopefully, so there’s going to be injuries, there’s going to be lads going to get called up, that’s just the nature of it.
"So whoever doesn't make it has to stay switched on and make sure they’re ready to go if they’re called upon.
“For the lads who are picked it’s about doing those lads proud - making sure we’re doing as much for the jersey as we can".
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