Facing a side that can afford to throw all caution to the wind adds another layer of pressure to what is already a crucial game on Ireland's World Cup journey

The first quarter in Paris was the stuff of nightmares for Ireland's Ronan Kelleher, but he deserves a huge amount of credit for keeping his head and getting back on track.

If you look at the profile of sides that Irish teams have traditionally struggled against in recent years, it’s the behemoths. The giants. Ireland may win by 3-5 points but in all likelihood will pay a physical price for doing so.

Meanwhile we were never going to learn a huge amount from an opening clash against a side with just three of the starting 15 playing outside the Romanian domestic league

I’ve said many times in recent months that this should be the most competitive World Cup in history. That applies to the battle at scrum time too

Rob Herring steadied the ship at both lineout and scrum time in the final half hour. Often an unsung hero, Herring is an excellent player and stalwart at Ulster for over a decade

Ireland lost possession at six lineouts, meaning they could only launch properly off about two-thirds of their own ball

Clinching the URC title isn’t the final piece of the puzzle - far from it.