You’ll might beat one Irishman, but you sure as hell won’t beat two.
Tomas Lezana tried just that in the early stages of the second half in Saturday night’s November International clash against Argentina.
He’s 6 ft 2 in tall. He’s 102 kg, he obviously fancied his chances.
He was taught a lesson.
Belfast man, Chris Farrell stepped up. His Wexford teammate Tadhg Furlong stepped up beside him. Both men drove forward in unison. Argentina’s number eight was left panned out flat on his back moments later.
You shall not pass…
CHRIS FARRELL!!!!!!
Brick bloody wall! 💪🏻 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/RELtfRMH2v
— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) November 25, 2017
It was a statement of intent from the two Irish men at the start of the second half. It was a moment that perfectly encapsulated the unity, the togetherness, the hunger of this Irish team.
The 28-19 scoreline flattered the South Americans. Ireland dominated their opponents in the first half, going into half-time with a 13-0 lead.
Cian Healy was a beast in the pack, at one stage making 3 tackles in the space ten second half seconds.
What an absolute, absolute, absolute star https://t.co/TMYRqSJKgJ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 25, 2017
The above wasn’t a flash in the pan from Furlong. He dominated the scrum for his 70 minutes on the pitch.
Sean O’Brien made 14 tackles in 62 minutes.
In the backs, Jacob Stockdale is a gem. Johnny Sexton picked them off with his vision, finesse and delivery, despite suffering a crunching hit akin to this one in the fifth minute of the game.
His response is amazing stuff. It's Johnny Sexton stuff. https://t.co/vCLV6e8vuJ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 25, 2017
Rob Kearney was back to his best, and there wasn’t any player who could be too disappointed with their performance.
It was a fitting way to round off this November series. Ireland were a class above South Africa, their youthful second string dominated the Fijians, they had the measure of Argentina.
Joe Schmidt will be licking his lips. He won’t let us know that, though.
Joe Schmidt: More of it was good than bad.
The head coach feels today and the November series has thrown up lots of positives pic.twitter.com/E0sHh6RTL9
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 25, 2017
There is a lot to look forward to.
