Here are some of the rugby stories making the news on a busy weekend of Test action.
Tipuric's candid admission after Wales loss
Justin Tipuric admitted that Wales failed to front up in their heavy defeat to New Zealand, handing the All Blacks carte blanche to dominate the breakdown in Cardiff.
Tipuric could be heard having conversations with referee Wayne Barnes over the English official's interpretation of the breakdown - with Wales regularly penalised for latching while New Zealand came out unscathed with their own clearout work.
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Speaking about it afterwards, the Wales skipper explained how he was just looking for some clarity. “It wasn’t so much frustration," he said. "It was something we’d seen before the game.
"We just wanted consistency - I know refereeing is tough. I was just asking for clarity. He said about when we’re latching, so I asked about when they’re not latching and going off their feet quite a bit. It was just one of those conversations with Wayne I had that didn’t quite go so well."
However, when asked whether he thought Wales had been given a fair crack of the whip at the breakdown by Barnes, he admitted that it ultimately came down to winning collisions - something Wales struggled to do.
"It starts with fronting up," he said. "That’s the only way you can slow it down.
"The frustrating thing is we didn’t front up that way. When you do that, you can have second efforts after the tackle.”
Williams - We'll bounce back
Tomos Williams has warned that Wales must win the physical battle against Argentina after their hammering against New Zealand.
The Pumas are traditionally strong at forward and will be scenting blood after seeing Wayne Pivac’s team beaten 55-23 in Cardiff.
Concerningly for head coach Pivac, Wales missed 24 tackles and leaked eight tries.
And scrum-half Williams believes another major test awaits.
“Argentina beat New Zealand in the summer and are a very good rugby nation — very passionate,” he said.
“You have to front up against Argentina. Hopefully, we’ll be there for that one.”
He agreed that Pumas and Georgia, Wales’ opponents a week on , are renowned for their physicality.
But he stressed Wales would be on a mission to deal with what’s coming.
“I think pretty much every Test game is going to be like that,” he said. “We have a lot to work on, but there’s a couple of positives there as well.
“I think the way we fought back into the game was good. We finished the second half well and started it well, too. We will recover and we’ll be ready to go next week.”
Owens shines amid gloom
Wales prop Gareth Thomas talked up the contribution of Ken Owens after the hooker’s strong effort in adversity against New Zealand.
Wayne Pivac’s side were swatted aside, but Owens was one of the shining lights for the hosts with strong carrying and tackling.
Thomas hadn’t played alongside ‘The Sheriff’ before but was impressed with what his fellow west Walian brought.
“You can tell with the amount of experience he has,” said Thomas. “ He brings the players together and it’s great to have him there. It’s the first time I’ve played with Ken and it was a pleasure playing alongside him.
“I’m looking forward to hopefully another one next week. “
Wales are traditionally slow starters in campaigns, but Thomas believes they will improve over the rest of the month. “Everyone’s looking forward to next week. We will get better,” he vowed.
Sexton Irish delight
Ireland captain Jonathan Sexton dubbed the 19-16 win over South Africa as among the greatest moments of his career.
"It is obviously right up there,” said Sexton. “We did not play our best rugby but the very pleasing thing is maybe a couple of years ago we might have crumbled.
“We are building well but we want trophies. The Triple Crown last season was very pleasing but we are talking about a Six Nations Grand Slam and a World Cup. That is key as we have not done that yet and hopefully we are building towards that.”
Mack Hansen scored a scintillating try as the Irish shrugged off a host of injury setbacks to cement their status as rugby's top-ranked nation.
Connacht wing Hansen lit up a pulsating Dublin Test match by gleefully diving over early in the second half to cap a spellbinding Irish move from right to left.
Get your brilliant 48-page Wales at the World Cup preview special - it's a must-have historical souvenir
The eye-catching score supplemented a bulldozing effort from Josh van der Flier as Andy Farrell's in-form hosts laid down a marker ahead of next year's World Cup pool-stage meeting with the Springboks.
French edge past Oz in thriller
A last-gasp Damian Penaud try enabled France to come from behind and beat Australia 30-29 in a Paris thriller.
It was France's 11th consecutive victory, a new record for Les Bleus.
The Wallabies had trailed 19-13 at half-time but fought back and were leading 29-25 when Reece Hodge kicked a penalty. However, Penaud had the final word and won the game for the French at the end.
Read more:
Wales v New Zealand winners and losers as pressure mounts on Pivac
Wales v New Zealand player ratings as Faletau and Owens not enough amid disappointing performances
Win free tickets to Wales v Argentina courtesy of Dove Men+Care
James Hook turns up at rugby event to discover Lee Byrne has massively stitched him up
