There can be little surprise that the start of Ireland v New Zealand was absolutely ferocious, but few thought that Gladiator's Paul Mescal would be revelling in the colosseum-like ferocity.
While both Jack Crowley and Damian McKenzie took full advantage of early mistakes to open both sides' scoring account with three-point penalties, the highlight of the first half came when Joe McCarthy and Scott Barrett came face-to-face in a tense scuffle.
The Stern moment which saw two gladiators roughing each other up early on, wasn't long attracting the attention of another gladiator who was among the crowds in the Aviva Stadium.
It was of course none other than former Kildare minor Paul Mescal who was attending his second major Irish sporting stadium of the day.
It's been a busy week for the former Lilywhite who's been in Dublin for the Irish premiere of Gladiator II which Mescal plays a starring role in.
While the movie won't hit the cinemas until late next week, a special live pre-release showing of the movie saw Mescal return to GAA HQ on Friday afternoon.
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Paul Mescal revels in Joe McCarthy scrap
While Friday's appearance may have been a far cry from Mescal's days lauding it for the Kildare minors, judging by his reaction to Joe McCarthy's scrap just hours later in the Aviva, his competitive spirit is still alive and well.
Just twelve minutes into one of the season's most hotly anticipated fixtures, tensions boiled over when Leinster's Joe McCarthy found himself squared off with Scott Barrett. McCarthy wasted no time informing Barrett of his presence, roughing up the New Zealand captain's collar, before Barrett returned the favour patronizingly ruffling the Irish lock's hair.
While to some, the early scrapping may have been unsavoury Gladiator Paul Mescal was loving the tension, cheering McCarthy on from the stands.
Paul Mescal's cheering of McCarthy must have had some effect because McCarhty's ferocity showed no sign of slowing down from there on out, with the Lock knocking All Blacks down like bowling pins.
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