Against Wales the Irish recited their rugby perfectly and included a conductor at the top of his game. Jonathan Sexton, 36, competed well in a game system he mastered at his fingertips during the opening of the 6 Nations tournament. A system that allows him, above all, to play hide and seek with opposing defenders. Is his absence an advantage to the tricolor flags? Not sure if all the openers on Clover’s XV can recite the same performance as Joey Carberry.

How to play Irish Number Ten? His scrum half rarely serves him. Two Irish centers, Bundy Aki and Gary Ringgros, were used as the first attackers. This is also the case with hooker Ronan Keller, especially after the touch. But despite the strength of these three players and the presence of two supporters with them, they focused on a good part of the opponent’s first defensive curtain and found the second playing structure behind them with their opener without trying to face Ireland directly. The second presents three or four solutions around him. These supports are not too far from the fly half, they only have to make short passes, thus allowing maximum accuracy in the Irish game and printing the speed of the attack, which can never be slowed down by long transmissions which are very difficult to maintain time. When Sexton or Carbury choose to double in the middle of the field when well-preserved, it can clear a lot of space outside of Ireland, after the operation of its two structures that can hide even a third.

The player with the most ball meters on the first day of the 6th Nations Tournament is Mac Hansen on the left wing, while doubles author Winger Andrew Conway can attest to this. One might think that the opener is only there to serve the resources by choosing the most appropriate support for the situation. This was not the case with the Welsh, as Sexton also attacked the Welsh defense with great success as he managed to break five tackles. This is simply unusual for an opener, and is remarkable compared to the other tenth number on Toono’s first day. While Englishman Marcus Smith smashed a tackle, Romain Ntamak, Paulo Garbici, Finn Russell and Dan Biger failed to score a single one. Only one player has performed better than Jonathan Sexton and Scottish winger Darcy Graham, while Damien Penaud and Gabin Villier have conceded five broken tackles. It therefore shows a similar situation to that of the Irish fly-half wingers. But he again benefits from the uncertainty created by the support revolving around him, which allows him to play more easily one-on-one against an opponent who is surprised at his initiative.