The slyness in the old dog.
On first viewing of the Conor Murray opener for Ireland, it looked as if the Welsh defence was absent without leave.
However, after viewing the score back a few times more, the role Mike McCarthy played made a crucial difference.
Having been part of an Irish scrum that held its own, on this rare occasion, McCarthy drifted out wide for Ireland’s third attacking phase.
When Jack McGrath was taken to ground, McCarthy stepped well beyond the formed ruck. It is standard practice in Test rugby at this stage.
However, with Murray doing what good scrum-halves do best and painting a picture – that he was going out wide – McCarthy spotted Wales prop Samson Lee jogging to plug a hole in the line.
The Leinster lock took a small step forward and angled his upper body so that Lee hesitated before latching onto Murray. That split-second made the difference as Murray had enough momentum to get the ball down.
The more you look at the score, the more you are convinced that Ireland had prepped for this in training.
Wales would strongly back their drift defence but, on this occasion, they were caught on the hop by Murray’s snipe and McCarthy’s clever speed-bump.
