Six Nations: Whatever the scoreline, Ireland v France promises to be a riveting encounter - The Irish Times

Andy Farrell’s charges expect to win if they play well, irrespective of the opposition.

All the component parts are there, talent, belief, game plan, individual flair and mental toughness.

Unfortunately, Elvis hadn’t left the building, French number eight Vermeulen scoring following what might politely be termed a questionable TMO decision and in Rome we switched off mentally, conceding two tries in the last five minutes to Marco Bortolami and Roland di Marigny.

Quick feet by Liam Williams sparked a fantastic Welsh counterattack and it took some good scrambling to snuff out the danger.

Ringrose and Owen Farrell produced with two rib ticklers, dominant tackles roughly waist high, that knocked the air from their victims.

There was an obvious lack of cohesion across the team, with players consistently making basic errors.