After 22 minutes, CJ Stander was already in double figures for carries. We knew he was good but even this performance exceeded expectations.
By the final whistle, in Ireland’s 16-16 draw, the Western Cape native had 23 carries and 11 successful, hearty hits.
He was superb from start to finish. Ireland have every reason to believe they can defend their title and Stander is a big part of that.
From the get-go, Ireland turned to their debutant and he never shirked. He horsed into Welsh bodies, plundered ball and had the crowd out of their seats on a couple of occasions.
Munster fans are well used to Stander at full tilt. Now the rest of Europe – and those fans that up their rugby interest come February of each year – know.
Stander was a joy to watch.
The scrum quavered all afternoon but whenever Stander got hold of the ball, he drove Ireland forward.
Justin Tipuric and Sam Warburton were supposed to starve and frustrate but they could not contain the naturlised Irishman.
Stander was desperately unlucky not to get a first-half try – the TMO adjudged him to be held up – but that didn’t stop him. Johnny Sexton knew that Stander was never far off his shoulder and targeting weak shoulders. Theirs is a combination that should burgeon as the championship progresses.
As the game ticked on, Wales were so preoccupied by marshalling the blindside that he began to run decoys, opening up space for Sexton and Jared Payne.
A full 80-minute shift and a deserved man-of-the-match.
The scary thing is, Stander will get better as he settles into the side.
There is hope after all.
The only issue for Joe Schmidt will be how to get Peter O’Mahony back into his back row. It is a good issue to have.
