Ireland defy slow start to win crucial breakdown battle

Before yesterday's game there was a real mix of anticipation and excitement in and around the Aviva Stadium. There was plenty of debate too as people wondered what Ireland team were going to turn up. This was usually a conversation reserved for French teams but the discrepancies between the Ireland who played in November and the one who turned up against Scotland were too big to ignore. And of course we also wondered if the Italy annihilation told us anything really.