Ireland’s free-flowing rugby seemed to stun a hell of a lot of people

Running, offloading, attacking... tries.

Who are you and what have you done with Ireland? A rather glum Six Nations campaign was lit up at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Joe Schmidt's outfit looked to take all their frustrations out on poor, old Italy. A first half of free-flowing rugby saw the hosts cut through their opposition for a shortcut and keep the Dublin crowd well entertained in a campaign that has long since slipped from their grasps. October 11th - that's how far you had to go back for the country's last win but a scintillating opening 40 minutes impressed the masses. Actually, it shocked them. Four glorious tries and a spirited display saw Ireland in 25-3 at the break. And how we marvelled. We had forgotten what this felt like. https://twitter.com/gaffneyamy/status/708654433916362753 And forgotten what this looked like. https://twitter.com/therealboycee/status/708656124317327361 Team selection going down well too. https://twitter.com/ShaunaghTay/status/708654400135438336 https://twitter.com/jackjotoole/status/708654274675396608 https://twitter.com/killianbyrne/status/708654158941962240 We're just class. https://twitter.com/gingetayyy/status/708655969643991040 https://twitter.com/GlynzarioBonez/status/708656642284511232 https://twitter.com/threeredkings/status/708655440259883013 https://twitter.com/AdamRedmond/status/708655691830050816 A logical explanation no-one wants to hear. https://twitter.com/Kingstonbro/status/708655711157358592 A logical rationalisation no-one wants to hear. https://twitter.com/BenMon92/status/708653298266443776 Some things never change though. https://twitter.com/ayybheann/status/708654570684227585 And it could be an opportunity wasted. https://twitter.com/canntoya/status/708651103890571266 But it was a taste of quality. https://twitter.com/liamd01/status/708655728924487682 And even the referee was easy on the eye. https://twitter.com/laur_boland24/status/708654061013372929 That fourth try from Jamie Heaslip though... End to end. https://twitter.com/ItsBeckyWalsh/status/708658660138983424 https://twitter.com/daveo_irl/status/708658656519262208 https://twitter.com/EimzT/status/708658650311757826 https://twitter.com/RealLeonCullen/status/708658851982254080 https://twitter.com/DarraghM88/status/708658840867377152 https://twitter.com/MattOH91/status/708658847129460736 https://twitter.com/MartinsLeftLeg/status/708658839634186240