Despite winning All-Ireland minor and U20 hurling championship titles with his county, O’Connor subsequently opted to pursue a career in rugby and – prior to being selected for this tour of South Africa – was a regular fixture in the number 15 jersey for the Ireland U20s earlier this year.

“He was excellent. He covered the ground well, attacked really well. Was another one of those players that stood up really well and showed up. Like we expected him to, to be honest,” Easterby remarked in a remote post-match press conference from Bloemfontein.

“Obviously his aerial skill will go a long way in this game, especially out here in South Africa. He has been excellent, so we’ve been delighted with the way he has gone about his business.”

Whereas Pumas came into this contest off the back of a Currie Cup campaign that saw them finishing sixth, this Ireland squad had a relatively limited time together before taking to the pitch in Bloemfontein.

While this presented a challenge to the visitors, Easterby stressed this is part and parcel of being a touring side and acknowledged he was thrilled with the way they conducted themselves throughout the course of the game.

“We’ve had six or seven days, but I think to a man our guys stepped up to the challenge and I think these tours are always going to be challenging.

“They’re always going to put us under pressure for the time [together], but we certainly wouldn’t look for any excuses in terms of our preparation. I thought on the whole we were outstanding and everyone showed up really well.”

Although the short turnaround will likely lead to a number of changes for his side’s clash against Western Force this Sunday – there is also a meeting with The Cheetahs pencilled in for next Wednesday – Easterby does have a couple of injuries to contend with in the wake of yesterday’s game.

Leinster winger Rob Russell was replaced by Jude Postlethwaite during the opening half, while front-row Mark Donnelly was also withdrawn at the interval.

“Mark Donnelly, at the moment, he has got ice on his ankle. He’ll have a scan on that and we’ll know more about that tomorrow. Rob came off with a hand injury. He was just struggling to get a grip and was replaced. Probably out of a matter of caution more than anything,” Easterby explained.

“That’s one again that we’ll assess in the morning and we’ll make sure that we get ahead of that when we know a little bit more.”

The first of three games to be played by the side in the southern hemisphere – meetings with Western Force and The Cheetahs will follow on October 6 and October 9 respectively – Zac Ward, Darragh Murray, Cormac Izuchukwu, Stephen Smyth and Gus McCarthy all registered five-pointers to propel Simon Easterby’s men towards victory.

Having survived an early spell of pressure from Pumas, Emerging Ireland eventually established a foothold inside the opposition half. While some patience was required initially, the visitors eventually opened the scoring in the 14th minute.

After the ball had been worked wide into his hands, Ward – fresh from his exploits at the Paris Olympics with the Ireland 7s – cut inside from the left-wing and raced past a number of Pumas challenges before touching down in fine style.

Despite Sam Prendergast firing his subsequent bonus strike past the target, Emerging Ireland had laid down a marker at the Bloemfontein venue.

Munster’s Alex Kendellen was producing a typically committed performance in his role as team captain and his back-row partner Izuchukwu delivered a couple of stand-out moments in the opening period. When Emerging Ireland found themselves within inches of the Pumas line just shy of the half-hour mark, the Ulster flanker released Connacht lock Murray through a gap for their side’s second try.

Emerging Ireland’s momentum was briefly halted when superb approach play from Tino Swanepoel enabled Lundi Msenge to cross over for a converted score, but Izuchukwu ensured they reinforced their authority by driving past the Pumas whitewash on the stroke of half-time.

Prendergast’s second successful conversion meant Emerging Ireland brought a 19-7 buffer into a second period that began in devastating style for the touring side.

A little over 60 seconds after the resumption, Harry Sheridan burst powerfully into the opposition ‘22’ and after he was picked out by the second-row, Matthew Devine set up hooker Smyth for a fourth Irish try in the right-corner.

Although this unconverted effort presented Emerging Ireland with a 17-point cushion, an excellent individual try from the pacy Swanepoel added fresh impetus to the Pumas challenge on 55 minutes. Ireland had already introduced the majority of their replacements by this point – including Jude Postlethwaite, who had deputised for winger Rob Russell in the first half.

While there was a worry that this might lead to some disjointed play from Emerging Ireland, it ultimately worked to their advantage. Alex Usanov got through a lot of work at loosehead after being a late call-up to the squad and when the Irish pushed forward off a line-out maul on the hour mark, replacement hooker McCarthy was on hand to supply the finishing touches.

A determined Pumas outfit did grab additional five-pointers through Eduan Swart and Swanepoel in the closing moments, but courtesy of a 76th minute penalty try in between these scores, Emerging Ireland comfortably secured the spoils in the end.

Scorers for Emerging Ireland: Tries: Z Ward, D Murray, C Izuchukwu, S Smyth, G McCarthy, Penalty Try. Cons: S Prendergast (2).

Scorers for Airlink Pumas: Tries: L Msenge, T Swanepoel (2), E Swart. Cons: C Swart (2).

EMERGING IRELAND: B O’Connor; R Russell, S O’Brien, H Gavin, Z Ward; S Prendergast, M Devine; M Donnelly, S Smyth, J Aungier; H Sheridan, D Murray; C Izuchukwu, A Kendellen, J Culhane.

Replacements: G McCarthy, A Usanov, R Foxe, E O’Connell, S Jansen, E Coughlan, J Murphy, J Postlethwaite.

AIRLINK PUMAS: T Swanepoel; L Msenge, T Pretorius, C Swart, D Adonis; D Visagie, R Gora; E Janeke, J-H Campher, S Swiegers; H Theunissen, D Slabbert; N Fisanti, A Fouche, K Dimaza.

Replacements: D Osuagwu, D Maritz, E Swart, T de Klerk, M Mashimbyi, R Fredericks, W van Niekerk, P Sobahle.

Referee: S Geldenhuys (South Africa).

Emerging Ireland are also set to face Western Force and The Cheetahs this Sunday (October 6) and next Wednesday (October 9) respectively during their spell in the southern hemisphere. Though they will present their own challenges, Kendellen felt their game against Pumas has allowed Emerging Ireland to develop a level of cohesion that he hopes can serve them well in those upcoming encounters.

“There’s always going to be work ons. We came together last week and we just talked about making connections on and off the pitch. We showed some good things out there. We’ll review that and we’ll get back to it next week,” Kendellen said in a post-match TV interview from Bloemfontein that was also broadcast on the new Irish Rugby + streaming service.

“It was a good game. We talked about building connections on and off the pitch. I think we showed glimpses of that today. It’s good to get the win. I think we saw a few good performances out there and I really enjoyed it.

“I think there is a good group there. We’re building nicely and there’s some nice connections in there. You look at the likes of Sam Prendergast, who is leading us around the park. It’s great to play with players like that and players from other provinces, which is great as well.”