United Ireland have spring in their step

AFTER the mind-numbing November, this was the February fizz.

Of course, it takes two teams to tango and France certainly played their part in making this one of the most enjoyable RBS Six Nations matches we have witnessed for quite some time. They came to play and with a different bounce of the ball and a missed tackle here and there, might well have departed with their eighth successive victory over the Irish. They will certainly do some damage before the campaign is a whole lot older.

This time, though, the boys in green had the self belief and confidence to finish off the job and they have now set themselves up for a big championship. It would obviously be premature to predict anything too grandiose and false dawns are something we are well acquainted with.