Wales kick-started their World Cup preparations with a hard-fought 16-10 victory over Ireland in Dublin.
Warren Gatland’s men out-muscled their opponents in a closely-contested match which sends them ahead of group rivals England in the World Rankings.
Wales will now take on Italy at home in their final warm-up game while Ireland travel to Twickenham to face England.
But what will have been learnt from Saturday’s full-blooded encounter?
Here’s five things that will have been gained from the match.
1. Justin Tipuric has to start
Having been Wales’ standout player in the defeat to the Irish in Cardiff, Tipuric repeated the feat as he put in a man of the match performance in Dublin.
Tipuric was the commanding force in Wales’ win with the openside dominating the breakdown, making 19 tackles, offering superb link work and scoring a try.
Quite simply, he was stunning and can do more to press his case. He puts both hand up for selection and now must start.
Quite who misses out now is the headache for Gatland. A like-for-like swap with captain Sam Warburton seems unlikely but blindside Dan Lydiate would feel hard done by having put in an incredible 25 tackles against Ireland.
2. Wales look to have cover for Samson Lee
Ever since Samson Lee was carried off in Wales’ other heroic victory over Ireland in this year’s Six Nations, there has been a concern that the tighthead will be unavailable for this year’s rugby showpiece.
In the first warm-up match against Ireland, both Aaron Jarvis and Scott Andrews struggled as the scrum creaked time and time again. Neither looked fit to replace the injured Lee if he did not recover.
The only hope was the untested Exeter prop Tomas Francis. Making his debut in Dublin, Francis added solidarity to the pack as Wales got the upper-hand at scrum-time. Although he tired out fairly soon, Warren Gatland will be pleased to have another option at tighthead.
3. Right wing is an issue for Wales
Against Ireland, Alex Cuthbert was given another chance to rediscover the form that made him one of the most lethal finishers in world rugby.
Yet he was dragged about in defence and may now face an anxious wait to see if he even makes the squad. He is up against Hallam Amos and Eli Walker, who have impressed without asserting themselves as starters.
With Liam Williams an injury doubt, it may fall upon one of these three to start on the wing and Gatland will be hoping one of them can step up and take hold of the position.
4. Ireland have a selection headache in the second row
Iain Henderson was one of Ireland’s standout player as he shone alongside the iconic Paul O’Connell.
He carried well, disrupted Welsh ball at the line-out and was deserving of his try as he laid down a strong claim for a starting spot.
With O’Connell’s place not in doubt, Henderson will be going against Devin Toner for the other lock spot.
Toner is in pole position with the 6ft 11in lock being Ireland’s main source of secure line-out ball but Henderson performance will certainly give Joe Schmidt something to think about.
5. Wales have nothing to fear at Twickenham
Much has been made about the fortress which Wales will be competing in when they face England at the World Cup and how much of an advantage it will be.
But in winning at the Aviva Stadium, Wales inflicted a first home defeat on Ireland since the heart-breaking 24-22 loss to New Zealand in the Autumn of 2013.
Ireland have risen to second in the world and have beaten team such as Australia, England and South Africa in their unbeaten home run yet Wales rose to the challenge and clinched their first win in Ireland since 2012.
Coincidentally, 2012 was also the last time Wales won at HQ and following the performance in Dublin, there is no reason they cannot win there too.
