The 'Team of Us' vibe lasted a few, precious minutes.
Jamie Heaslip teamed up with his old Ireland teammates, on Saturday, as part of the Amazon Prime coverage of a Bank of Ireland Nations Series classic at Aviva Stadium.
Ireland defeated the world champion Springboks 19-16 in a tight, pulsating game and reaffirmed their position atop the world rankings. Johnny Sexton kicked nine points and tries from Josh van der Flier and Mack Hansen helped settle matters.
Heaslip teamed up with Tommy Bowe and Simon Zebo, with who he started a 2014 Test win over the Boks, as part of the Amazon coverage, along with South African legend Bryan Habana.
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Jamie Heaslip on Ireland's late changes
As a former Leinster, Ireland and Lions No.8, Jamie Heaslip knows all about facing off against some of the toughest sides in world rugby.
He was on co-commentary duty, as well as providing some punditry insights. Heaslip ruffled a few feathers by wondering why Johnny Sexton was going for the posts with a late penalty, rather than kicking for touch. Sure, Ireland had mauled over for van der Flier's try, but Sexton did land the kick and it put Ireland eight points clear, with mere minutes to play.
The biggest gripe some Ireland fans - particularly those that support Ulster - had, though, was Heaslip questioning the decision to replace Dan Sheehan with Rob Herring, on 63 minutes.
The Ulster hooker, described as Ireland's 'third choice' by Heaslip helped Andy Farrell's side see out the game, even if there were nervy moments with two unconverted tries getting the Boks close.
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That was the tip of the spear, as several Ulster supporters waded in to defend Rob Herring and stress that 23-man squads are needed to get over the line, in modern rugby.
Herring may yet get a starting chance against Fiji, next Saturday, while Sheehan is held back and primed for the November 19 clash with an Australia side that pushed France to the wire, on Saturday night.
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