When Scotland ran out in front of more than 77,000 people at Twickenham for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Australia this afternoon, they didn't just carry the weight of a nation on their shoulders - they carried the weight of the entire Northern Hemisphere.
Hosts England had already been condemned to an ignominious and embarrassing group-stage exit on home soil, while Italy, perhaps more predictably, joined them in failing to progress from the pools.
An injury-plagued Wales fought bravely before being beaten late by South Africa in the opening quarter-final yesterday, but France and Ireland put up less of a fight as they were comfortably swept aside by New Zealand and Argentina respectively.
Scotland, then, were the final hope to avoid an all-Southern Hemisphere last four for the first time in World Cup history, and against the odds they came agonisingly close to pulling it off.
Heavy underdogs going into the match, Vern Cotter's side were just one minute and one kick away from their first semi-final for 24 years, but Bernard Foley's late penalty broke Scottish hearts in the cruellest fashion as the Wallabies crept through with a thrilling 35-34 victory.
After the match, Peter Horne, scorer of the first of Scotland's three tries, spoke to Sports Mole about the dramatic defeat, his side's World Cup performance as a whole, and what this means for rugby in the Northern Hemisphere.
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If you can find the words, can you sum up how you're feeling after having victory snatched away from you like that?
"Devastated. Absolutely gutted. We were so close, nearly there but we just couldn't get over the line.
"We're absolutely gutted but we need to make sure we dust ourselves down and get ready for the next time we'll be putting on a Scotland jersey, which will be against England in the Calcutta Cup. So that's something to look forward to and make sure we build on."
Obviously that disappointment is still raw, but there must be a lot of pride in how well you performed today?
"Yeah absolutely. We did put in a good performance. We haven't really hit the heights that we wanted to in the group stages, we were just kind of getting the job done, so it was nice that we came out and really put in a good shift that hopefully the fans and everyone can be proud of. But we're still just devastated that we couldn't get over the line in the end."
Having lost all of your matches in this year's Six Nations, do you feel like you did yourselves justice at this World Cup?
"Yeah, we had a great belief in the squad. We didn't have a great Six Nations but the margins were so small in every game and we ended up coming up short. It was the same again today.
"Those are the margins in big games that determine if you win or if you lose. At the moment it's hard to take any positives from it but I guess looking back a few weeks down the line we'll feel we gave it a good go."
There were a number of contentious refereeing decisions in that match, not least for the penalty that ultimately won Australia the game. What did you make of Craig Joubert's performance?
"It's not for me to comment on. I'm not sure. When you're in the heat of the battle... it's not for me to say."
It has been a miserable time for the main Northern Hemisphere sides at this World Cup - what do you make of their struggles?
"I think a few of the other sides have been unlucky, unfortunate with injuries and things, but we'll make sure that if we get another crack at it... I think everyone in the Six Nations will be hurting and looking to put it right next time they get a chance."
Barney Corkhill
