Hard-earned victory over the Wallabies ticked a lot of boxes, and left the men in gold kicking themselves for missing a golden chance
So, comparisons are always going to be a little unfair, and this was especially so in the case of Jack Crowley here.
He and Stuart McCloskey had only ever played together for 34 minutes in total, a week previously. Considering all of that, the former Irish Under-20 star acquitted himself assuredly. After a couple of safe early penalties to touch, he struck the ball well, had some nice touches and looked composed. This has been a hugely beneficial few weeks for him.
Otherwise they fanned across the pitch, and, save for McCloskey and – when he came on – Bundee Aki, too much of Ireland’s running game was lateral. Ireland made 203 tackles, 141 of them in the first half, and, as ever, Josh van der Flier and Doris led the way, with each of the front five putting in big shifts and Garry Ringrose defending superbly.
“We had a penalty and I didn’t even have to make a call,” revealed James Ryan, who’d assumed the captaincy. “He came up to me with the ball and had a smile on his face. And yeah, it’s just he’s a very confident player, and I knew when I saw that there was a very good chance that he would knock it between the sticks.
This eventually came to pass with the first scrum of the second half, effectively affording Ireland 2½ minutes and two plays with a two-man advantage – one off a lineout and the second off an uncontested scrum.
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