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Published 18:12 10 Mar 2019 GMT
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(Photo by Matt Browne/Sportsfile)[/caption]
Stander, James Ryan and Iain Henderson were the driving Irish forces in a first half that ended with the home side on 94% territory and 81% possession. France had to stick 120 tackles, compared to Ireland's 21 (Stander made seven of those). Following Ireland's 26-14 win, Joe Schmidt commented:
"I don't think I've ever seen, in all my years, a team control another side in that first 40 minutes like we did."Through it all, as Ireland drove France back into their 22 and came in wave after wave, CJ Stander was mouthing off all the way. Listening to the game through the referee's microphone and you could not miss Stander. Whether he was one foot or 30-feet away from ref Ben O'Keeffe, you could hear Stander. He was organising defensive sets, encouraging teammates to get back in the line, roaring on those that made big plays and always letting France know this was not their day. https://twitter.com/patmccarry/status/1104783530264023047 With every scrum that packed down, Stander was bellowing. Sometimes he would call out a name - 'Killer' or 'Yes, Tadhg! Yes!' - while other times he was just yelling into the crisp Dublin sky or the straining bodies of the seven men he was shunting forward as best he could. He was incessant and he was relentless. He does it to drive others on but it is also something has has done for years to stoke his own fires. Patched up and ready for service, Stander came close to replicating the performance levels he delivered against New Zealand last November. Next Saturday, in the white-hot atmosphere of Cardiff, his voice may well be drowned out by the tens of thousands of expectant Welsh fans. For Ireland, he has to rise above that noise and out-do his excellent deeds of today. Ireland need him at his loudest, boldest and best.
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