Botched anthems, stadium crushes, and the heat; three of the outstanding negatives coming out after the opening two days of the Rugby World Cup.
Yesterday, Tadhg Furlong's discussed how Ireland coped with the sun, and it caused his teammate and captain Johnny Sexton had to take matters into his own hands ahead of the clash with Romania.
As the sides lined out for the anthems on the 15 metre line, Sexton beckoned to his team to move forward a few feet into the shade to avoid an uncomfortable few minutes standing in the 36 degree heat.
He then motioned to the opposition to do the same and they duly followed suit.
Johnny Sexton Makes The Sensible Move Ahead Of World Cup Clash Vs Romania
Anyone notice as teams line up on 15m line for Anthems yesterday- Sexton brings Irish team forward into shade & signals Romania to do so aswell.. @Murray_Kinsella @RuaidhriOC @jamieheaslip @bernardjackman @AlanQuinlan1 pic.twitter.com/Mn1BlRoZTj
— Danny Noonan (@dannynoonan80) September 10, 2023
READ HERE: Johnny Sexton Was Not Happy With Actions Of Romania Player During Rugby World Cup Try
READ HERE: Brian O'Driscoll Identifies The Most Important Aspect Of Ireland's Win Over Romania
While it was only minnows Romania that Ireland defeated, they showed no let up for the full 80 minutes despite the intense sun.
After the game, head coach Andy Farrell spoke to the media and gave his views on the level of the performance.
"I actually thought at half time we'd a few things to sort out, we stopped the flow of our game quite a bit with errors in our game, and discipline, got a little bit frantic with our communications, certainly after line breaks there were a few passes on the floor.
"After the break we were very composed. We showed our intent, our togetherness as a team, how in-sync we were with the ball in hand.
"Our fitness was great, and our skill level was pretty good as well. Delighted with how we played, certainly in the second half, but certainly not the first two minutes."
SEE ALSO: Simon Zebo Explains Why Ireland Backs Love Having Johnny Sexton In The Team
