They whooped and danced at the finish as if they’d won the World Cup.

For a team who failed to make it there, this friendly win nonetheless seemed as important as the principles they should not have been forced to so stoutly defend all week.

The team’s true superstar, Beibhinn Parsons, lit up a fitful but dogged display with a stunning first-half try, adding to efforts in each half by front-row union Leah Lyons and the retiring Lindsay Peat.

And so they completed a traumatic week with an admirable strength of will, for there would have been many highlighting another playing set-back; perhaps even some within the IRFU.

Such a pity there were not more of them in the RDS, however; the social media outcry was not backed up by physical support, which is lamentable. As the side departed from their warm-up routine, with only a few hundred in the rickety old Anglesea Stand, they did so with their arms on each other’s shoulders, much like the Japanese men.

They would leave the same way – in united states of defiance having over-taken the United States in the world rankings. They are now the fifth best side in the world when all week it seemed as if they were operating with a third world administration. Such a pity there were not more witnesses to their catharsis.

The crowd had not swelled by that much when they returned for kick-off; Lindsay Peat leading the side out on what was expected to be her valedictory appearance for her team.

Captain Ciara Griffin could not confirm whether the veteran would return next week. “We’ll leave it for her to make her own statement.” Adam Griggs said she is available to play Japan.

Having turned 41 last week, her powers may have been dimmed but her energy remained unabashed as the home side launched themselves into a series of early tackles as USA smoothly held ball from the opening restart.

Sadly, that was hardly an omen for the early throes, as both sides turned over the ball with monotonous regularity.

Much of the visiting errors came from the Irish – Stacey Flood’s high kick, spilled by Bulou Mataioga as Eimear Considine thundered into her, Flood’s own powerful poach, Nichola Fryday’s wilful rip on half-way announcing her wonderful display.

The home attacking threat was sporadic; Parsons almost made a trademark incursion but she found heavy traffic down her wing. The visitors should have scored in the first quarter, a rare passage of smooth phased play left to right catching out the shooter Eimear Considine but Mataioga couldn’t hold Tess Feury’s cross.

In the meantime, Irish rugby verifiable rugby star, Beibhinn, delivered a familiar flourish, even as the USA had decided to switch defensive wings in an attempt to rein in her influence. She might as well have attempted to bail water with a fork.

Ireland’s one area of true dominance, the scrum – Peat pronounced her enduring influence by enabling her side to win twice against the head – provided the platform, from within their own half beneath the main, deserted stand.

Within an instant, Flood had despatched the ball with a clever kick which left the hapless Mataioga floundering; the powerful, evasive running of the western winger did the rest.

The try should have settled them but the difficulty in retaining possession remained, for both sides, with 16 turnovers (9 Irish) and 13 penalty concessions, eight from the Irish, reflected a diffident display from both.

The visitors responded with their maul prominent; denied initially when the TMO, eagle-eyed, spotted a knock-on from Kate Zachary in the build-up to Saher Hamdan’s deft touchdown from no distance.

With the advantage, they went to their maul again and after being initially denied at close quarters, flung it wide with hands sticking to ball from once and Mataioga earned a modicum of vengeance by scoring on Parsons’ wing. Ireland would head to the sheds with the lead, though, as USA fluffed the restart before scrum-half Carly Waters spilled another testing Flood kick into touch.

Ireland’s forwards pounded, Fryday producing one immense carry, as first Anna Caplice and then, successfully, Leah Lyons, sought the touchdown; Flood’s conversion secured Ireland a lead they may not have deserved.

The Americans responded to the insult immediately after the break, scoring a wonderful 44th minute try which involved backs and forwards and going from edge to edge.

Kristine Somme’s sumptuous off-load saw Ireland hastily scramble in retreat as numbers flooded their right-hand side,

From the final breakdown, Megan Foster whipped a ball to Kayla Canett who found Katana Howard’s delicious line; she in turn delivered a deft off-load on a scissors to Elizabeth Cairns to decorate the game’s best passage of play with the score. Ireland were unbowed though and demonstrated once more that their maul had punch, too, so much so that Bulou Mataioga’s eventful evening would include ten minutes in the bin for illegally sacking a rumble.

As she disappeared, Peat re-appeared from a phalanx of back-slapping colleagues as she plundered Ireland’s third try in the 50th minute, pushing her women out to 17-10 and a sense of breathing space.

Griffin departed, Maeve Óg O’Leary coming on for her debut and in her first action helping Neve Jones prevent Elizabeth Cairns diving over from a lineout drive beyond the hour mark as the visitors sought a way back into the conversation.

The Americans fluffed their lines when Tess Feury should have scored, despite Canett’s unsympathetic pass, but the winger made a hash of things, not sure whether to side-step or run straight, in the end doing neither and dropping the ball short of the corner flag.

Ireland’s error count remained high as the mental fatigue of this enervating week hampered any attempt to control matters on the field.

With so many others failing to do so off it, it is a wonder how they managed to do so at all.

Ireland – L Delany; L Sheehan, E Considine (E Higgins 55), S Naoupu, B Parsons (A-L Murphy Crowe 68); S Flood, A Hughes (K Dane 58); L Peat (N Jones 58) , C Moloney (K O’Dwyer 58), L Lyons (L Djougang 55), N Fryday, S Monaghan, C Griffin (C) (M O’Leary 63), E McMahon, A Caplice (H O’Connor 70).

USA – K Canett; T Feury (M Hawkins 69), A Talei Bonte, K Howard, B Mataioga; M Foste (S Levy 69), C Waters (O Ortiz 69); C Benson (N James 51), S Halmdan, H Rogers (M Learned 78), K Sommer, A Washington (H Taufoo 71), R Embrecke, R Johnson (E Cairns 20), K Zachary (C).

Ref – Sara Cox (RFU).