Attacking rugby is on the rise thanks in part to the game being sped up
Ringrose and Owen Farrell produced with two rib ticklers, dominant tackles roughly waist high, that knocked the air from their victims. The pace of the game had increased with lineouts and scrums now formed without undue delay. The halfbacks being told to ‘use it’ forced all teams to kick in an unstructured fashion at some point in the games.
I lost count at the number of French try-scoring opportunities somewhere around the eight minute mark in the opening 40. At one-point Romain Ntamack’s complete lack of interest in a breaking ball presented to me a perfect illustration of the French mindset on the day. ] However, France did score four tries, the bonus point, match-winning one, effortless and elegant. The adage about winning when you are playing poorly certainly applies when looking just at the result and not the performance.
Ross Byrne had a positive impact on the game when coming on in Cardiff. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images Andrew Porter, Ringrose and Conor Murray all made try saving interventions. Nonetheless the Irish defence held strong, and that is a superb place to be going with home advantage this weekend coupled with an attack that was breathtaking in that opening fusillade.
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