James Ryan’s relentless showing in Ireland’s 26-14 victory over France was rewarded with the Guinness Man of the Match award.
The 22-year-old was an integral part of an Irish pack that dominated France from start to finish and set the tone with a huge early hit on Antoine Dupont as he tried to escape his own in goal area.
The second-rower carried the ball 17 times for 18 metres and made 11 tackles as Ireland kept themselves in with a chance of retaining their crown with a win over Wales next weekend.
“We are pretty happy with that and we showed real good intent from early on in the game but perhaps we took our foot of the gas a little in the second half,” said Ryan.
“It is great playing here at home and it is a good win at the end of the day but I think we can do better.
“We really got stuck in and went after them today was top notch and we got a few shoves on in the scrum so from a forwards perspective we are happy with that too.
“It is shaping up to be a good one next weekend.”
