Nothing to see here. Just a routine 12-try, 80-point romp for the Irish in stifling heat. Quite a triumph, then, but the real win was the seeming lack of any significant injury. There are unlikely to be any further soft matches for Ireland, so ferocious is Pool B. The main surprise was the strength of the team they fielded against the Romanians. Happily, the run-out was a success from almost all angles.
“We always ask before and after a game, would we be happy with the scoreline, and of course we would here,” said Andy Farrell. “I actually thought at half-time we had a few things to sort out. A few errors stopped our flow, but after the break I thought we were very composed.”
Johnny Sexton was the headline selection, making his return to the line-up after a six-month absence through injury and suspension. He negotiated the assignment without mishap, if “without mishap” is not damning a haul of 24 points with faint praise.
“I’m delighted to be back,” he said. “I didn’t expect conditions to be like that. It was incredibly, incredibly hot – in the warm-up in particular. But I’m delighted to get through some minutes. We showed some good stuff, but there’s a lot to improve upon. We know the challenge next week [against Tonga] is going to be up a couple of levels, so we need to be better again.”
Elsewhere, Peter O’Mahony will put heat on the selectors in Ireland’s back row. He scored two tries and was named man of the match, but the real star was Bundee Aki, who lay waste to the Romanian defence on countless occasions and had a hand in most of the early tries, when one might have considered the match still somewhat “alive”.
Indeed, it may amuse historians to note that the first points in this 82-8 rout were scored by the routed. The game was very much alive then.
No one seriously thought an upset was in the offing when Gabriel Rupanu, the lively scrum-half, went over in the third minute. For a start, that is far too early for any underdog to score a try, if those underdogs are serious about defending their lead. But when Hinckley Vaovasa nonchalantly ran back a loose Sexton kick and turned the ball inside for Rupanu to run home, notice had been served that Pool B’s supposed whipping boys can play a bit.
When underdogs bite big dogs so early on, it serves only to make the latter angry. Sure enough, Ireland responded two minutes later. This time Sexton hit his customary right note to put Aki half through, and Aki put Garry Ringrose fully through. His inside ball put Jamison Gibson-Park away for Ireland’s opener.
And so the procession began. It is difficult to set this performance in context. The only area not really up to scratch was the lineout, three out of 10 of which went west. Otherwise, Ireland paraded all their usual flicks and loops, a variety of options presenting themselves to each and every ball-carrier.
Plenty of passes went to floor, but when it clicked a try generally ensued. And, lest we become too dismissive of the challenge they faced, Romania fielded three 17-stone three-quarters who hurled themselves into the fray with gusto. Caelan Doris, Aki et al handled it without fuss.
Aki scored Ireland’s fourth, for a bonus point in the 34th minute. After Hugo Keenan and Tadhg Beirne tries in the first quarter, he also took a starring turn in Ireland’s fifth, on the stroke of half-time, when he stepped clear to send Sexton to the posts.
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Ireland’s captain scored two tries and seven conversions for that haul. More importantly, he emerged unscathed, although there were murmurs of concern when he hurt his wrist in the act of scoring the first, objecting to Jason Tomane’s attempt to stop him. Once he had scored and converted his second at the start of the final quarter, he was promptly withdrawn to a bed of cotton wool.
The score was a mere 54-8 at that point. Ireland ran in a further four tries as Romania wilted. Jack Crowley replaced Sexton to convert them all, including O’Mahony’s second from the touchline. So he enjoyed himself too.
Joe McCarthy rounded off his fourth cap with a pick-up and stroll to the line for a well-deserved first Test try. Then O’Mahony, Aki and Beirne, in that order, each weighed in with their second tries of the match. Beirne’s was particularly outrageous, virtually every one of Ireland’s players having a go with ball in hand, starting from deep inside their 22 with the clock long in the red.
“I didn’t know what was happening,” said Farrell. “I was on the sideline, begging them to keep the ball in play. I thought at one stage Hugo [Keenan] was going to kick it off. Then Mack Hansen started playing like an under-12-year-old, which is great. It was an outstanding way to finish the game.”
There was very much a festival feel to proceedings by then. We must hope they all enjoyed themselves. Because the frolics in Pool B are about to end.
