Ireland v USA: Brian O'Driscoll's diary: Victory over the Springboks? At Lansdowne Road? There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

The most emphatic point made last week was one over 80 minutes of the Test match at Lansdowne on Saturday. Pre-match banter is rendered redundant at that stage as actions invariably tend to drown out whatever hype has been generated. Jake White probably realised his words were inopportune but it certainly wasn't my place to point out that fact at the post-match dinner.

There is an unwritten rule, maybe better phrased as a distinctly Irish perspective, that once you've crossed the whitewash for the final time, the game is over. You've won or lost and there's little point in revisiting the match.

It's a lot easier to be gracious in victory. We had won a tough game of rugby and there wasn't the slightest question of continuing to brag that night. There is nothing more grating than listening to someone drone on about how they beat you and offering a couple of condescending pats on the head.

When I got up to speak, this was foremost in my mind. The South African players were very gracious, when given the way the match panned out, they might have been forgiven for being a little grumpy. But there wasn't a hint of it and I spent an enjoyable couple of hours with my Springbok counterpart John Smit. We had an ordinary conversation, which was wonderful, with very little talk about rugby.

When you're involved in a sport 24/7, it's not high on the list of topics. The game itself was hugely physically punishing and the tone was set from the start. I had a little word with my opposite number Marius Joubert early on in the game after he dunted an Irish player late.

Suffice to say that I suggested to him that he wouldn't be taking any liberties at Lansdowne Road. I never saw his WWF clothesline tackle coming later on in the match.

I was intent on racing through a gap on the assumption Shaggy (Shane Horgan) would get his hands free in the tackle. Next thing I know I've been grabbed around the neck and am looking up at the sky.

It's hugely frustrating when that happens because you're not braced for the impact and it was a genuine try-scoring opportunity. I cannot believe how the touch-judge on my side missed the whole thing; maybe he was following the ball, but fortunately Paddy O'Brien spotted it from the other side of the pitch and we got the penalty.

From a personal standpoint I don't mind what goes on, on the pitch (within reason) in terms of confrontations as long as the guy is a reasonable character off the pitch. Marius was a decent guy and I went into the Springbok changing room afterwards to swap jerseys.

We had a beer together later on at the dinner and I was looking forward to a further chat, but the teams ended up in different places: Ireland in Annabel's, South Africa at another nightclub.

The traditional hazing of the new cap, in this case Johnny O'Connor, didn't really materialise. He had produced a fantastic effort during the game, but still looked in reasonable condition that night. Our new physiotherapists Brian Green and Cameron Steele also got off remarkably lightly, but we might attend to that again at a later date.

We seemed to be more intent last Saturday night on celebrating a great team triumph and enjoying the night rather than wrecking someone else's. It was great to leave the Berkeley Court behind and spend some time with friends and family and basically just chill out.

The next day began with a pool session, but we then had the afternoon off. This meant that I took to my bed while Ireland's young outhalf and hero of the victory over South Africa, Ronan O'Gara offered further evidence of his love for the gee-gees by heading solo for Punchestown. He'll tell you he was there to meet a friend, but we know you like your "Ronan-time".

One final reference to the Springbok game concerns a few tears at the national anthem. It's funny, but no matter how often you have stood on the pitch at Lansdowne Road, there are times when the emotion of the occasion is far more pronounced.

Last Saturday was a case in point. John Hayes claimed that he had a fly in his eye while my excuse was that I had conjunctivitis: three lots of antibiotics in the lead-up to the match suggested mine had a little more substance. The team was so pumped up, a lot of testosterone and emotion on the day.

This week it's pretty much all change, in particular with new caps Tommy Bowe and Denis Leamy.

There is that element of confidence mingled with a certain innocence. Bowe's got tremendous potential and I have no doubt he 'll be a success.

Denis is genuinely a hard man, not in a nasty way, but hard beyond his years. He is a typical Munster back row; silky skills and that raw aggression. I am genuinely looking forward to playing in the same team as the two boys.

We trained hard on Monday, 48 hours after the Springbok game and it was definitely a great choice by Eddie (O'Sullivan). If we had taken it handy then there would have been an element of the intensity lessening for this match and there's no way that should be allowed to happen.

The Americans will provide a tough game. They'll be very physical and as they showed against France and they know where the try-line is. They are excellent on the counter-attack so it's up to us to show that there'll be no dip in our standards. South Africa is done and dusted and America is the only game in town.

On a personal level, I'm happy to be playing as I prefer to keep that match sharpness that comes with playing. It's hard to turn down the chance to lead your country in a Test. There'll be different demands on Saturday and it's up to this team to embrace them.

Looking back now is irrelevant to the development of this team.

The only thing that matters for us is beating the USA.