Ireland coach Richie Murphy has thanked the Irish public for their support as his team advances to the World Cup semi-finals this weekend.
The Under-20 side topped their group but the tournament has been overshadowed by the deaths of St Michael's College students Andrew O'Donnell and Max Wall and the passing of Munster coach Greig Oliver.
The Ireland squad consists of six St Michael's College players while Greig Oliver's son Jack is in the Irish squad.
And Murphy took to social media to thank the Irish public for their support, saying: "After an extremely tough few days on behalf of the team and management i would like to thank everyone for their support. South Africa in a semi is a challenge we will rise too. We are still in this. RIP Greig, Andrew, Max"
And the St Michael's College's Union social media page said: "Shoulder to shoulder with you and all the squad. We don’t stop here."
Ireland's semi-final clash takes place on Sunday at 3.30 pm.
