Somehow, some bloody how, Ireland put in a shocker of a first half performance and still led France at the break.
Ireland put in a first 40 minutes that could euphemistically be described as rope-a-dope. Realists might say they were sloppy as hell.
Still, trailing 6-0 after 30 minutes, they effected a super attack off an attacking lineout and Conor Murray crashed over for his 10th Test try.
The try says a lot about Murray’s sniping abilities, strength and O’Driscoll-esque ability to get low and get low quickly.
The real beauty of the score, however, was the path to the tryline Jamie Heaslip cleared for his scrum-half. Blocking Kevin Gourdon, Heaslip then dragged French scrum-half Baptiste Serin out the road by the scruff of his collar.
Smart, if slightly cheeky play.
It got the job done, though, and Johnny Sexton’s conversion left the score 7-6 at the break.
Check out the full move for the try here:
