It would baffle those not familiar with Irish rugby that a team could get so soundly beaten in a World Cup match and then two years later put 60 points on the same opponent. But for supporters it makes total sense – a good and occasionally very good side between World Cups – a hot mess during them. The next World Cup is two years away but as Johnny Sexton stated before the November series, they’re already building for France 2023, and that mindset puts their ultra ambitious performance against Japan into context. This wasn’t a one-off, free-shot, throwaway performance;…

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