Who is popular today?

Ireland 32-19 FranceAndy Farrell’s side lay down marker with bonus-point victoryIt’s been years since the championship last had a match between the two best teams in the world, and, if you didn’t know that these two were going to square off against each other all over again this time next year, you might say it would be years more before it throws up another game quite like the one they played here in Dublin. Ireland won it. It was their first victory against France in three years, and the first by anyone, anywhere, since the summer of 2021.It was a game that spun and twisted in the wind, all wild breaks, walloping collisions, frantic tackles and fingertip passes. It stretched every last sinew, bruised every last bone, drew every last breath. When it was all over, the 57,000-odd fans inside the stadium had just enough sense left to mutter: “Well bloody hell.” Continue reading...