Clash of the Titans cut short by ankle injury

Shane Horgan remembers the first tackle, in the right corner just inside the Ireland 22, at the Havelock Square end. Adrenalin propelled him towards New Zealand's left-wing Jonah Lomu, the desire all consuming to arrive at roughly the same time as the ball and so deny his gargantuan opponent time to gather forward momentum all consuming.

"I had a feeling that he might be getting the ball and obviously panic set in. I arrived almost at the same time as the ball. I managed to haul him down." It was a feat Horgan managed repeatedly before departing with a damaged ankle early in the second half but not before he had offered the best performance of his fledgling career.

It was not simply about the manner in which he met the physical challenge Lomu presented but also his ability to beat tacklers and link with the support. His was a brilliant all-round display cruelly shortened by injury. Modestly he deflected the praise to others. "The team has done a lot of defensive work.

"The plan was to try to get up to him (Jonah Lomu) and deny him a head of steam. Luckily enough I managed to do that a couple of times. I got a lot of help because it's not a one-man job. Drico (Brian O'Driscoll) was hunting very well. There was a lot of double-teaming. Because it's Jonah Lomu people want to make the tackle so I had to push a few out of the way," he laughed.

Horgan damaged his ankle towards the end of the first half chasing a garryowen. There then transpired the bizarre sight of Ireland team physiotherapist Ailbe McCormack tugging on Horgan's ankle as if trying to reposition a dislocation.

The crowd groaned in sympathy. "I had a little bit of capsule caught in my ankle. It's happened to me before. Sometimes it will work its way back, just pop back in. It just wouldn't get back in this time. Eventually I had to give in to it. I couldn't put any weight on my right ankle. I wouldn't have been much use to the team and would have ended up being exposed badly."

He carried on until just after the interval but no further. "I was devastated. This was the biggest game I have ever played in with the possible exception of my first cap. My Dad's family is from New Zealand, as is he, so I couldn't have been more up for a match. Running out there today I have never felt anything like it and so it really was a case of dragging me off.

"It was crushing. The atmosphere was so brilliant, the singing at half-time, amazing. The Irish rugby public is just getting more and more enthused about the team and what they are achieving in Irish rugby. It's a privilege to play out there in Lansdowne Road at the moment. I don't remember the reception, just looking at my boots as I came off."

Watching was purgatory for the Lansdowne player and there was no consolation in having played in an enthralling match. "There was a very bitterly disappointed group of lads in that changing-room. We saw that they (New Zealand) were a team that could have been beaten and we gave ourselves an opportunity but in the end we didn't take it and we're all disappointed.

"I think the expectations of the team and the Irish public are higher than they have ever been and losing even against a great team like New Zealand is hard to take."

The personal satisfaction will probably come later.