Ireland scored five tries and a record 42 points in their hammering of England last time out, but the enduring image came from the opening ruck of the game.
It wasn't picked up in the moment by the TV cameras, after Ireland had kicked to exit their 22, but a few players were late to catch up with the kick after some pulling and dragging on the ground after the ball was cleared.
The image later surfaced; Ireland's James Ryan tangled up with England’s Henry Pollock, who looked like he had got more than he bargained for after some wrestling on the ground. Pollock’s face was planted to the turf as Ryan used his opponent for a bit of leverage to help himself off the ground.
"There wasn't much in that, in fairness to Henry Pollock," Ryan laughed this week, when reminded of that bit of good old-fashioned rassling with his ex-British and Irish Lions team-mate.
"It was a bit of craic. He's someone that can give it and take it.
"He wasn't someone I was looking for. That was just a bit of a scuffle at the start of the game.
"There's no hard feelings there at all and we were having a laugh after the game. So that was it really."
While Ryan says he never went out looking for that early grapple, it’s not crazy to suggest it was a nice way to settle into such a huge game.
The Irish performance across the board was one of incredible physicality, channelled in the right way as they withstood an early English onslaught before flexing their own muscles and cruising to a famous win.
It was only two weeks on - but a world apart - from an outing Paris where Ireland were obliterated by France, as head coach Andy Farrell publicly challenged his team for their lack of intent.
With that in mind, how does Ryan define "intent"?
"To be honest it's all mindset really," he added, as Ireland look to build on that win when they host Wales tomorrow.
"We spoke that week, that all the best Irish teams always have that intent piece and just play on the edge and there's probably a bit of an individual responsibility there to get yourself to that level and to be ready to go.
"And I thought obviously we did it really well against England which was great.
"The big thing for us now is making sure that we don't just drop off, we're able to be ruthless enough to have that again this week and the following week."
As @brettruganalyst and @bernardjackman explain, Ireland's maul has been a non-factor through the opening three round of the Six Nations. 🏉
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 3, 2026
But why?
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The Leinster lock came off the bench in Paris that night, and was one of the better performers on an overall disappointing night, and he has followed that up with two impressive starting displays against Italy and England, which has seen him retained in the second row for Friday’s visit of Wales to Dublin.
Ryan logged 10 tackles and six carries at Twickenham, while his workrate around the pitch was reflected in Ireland’s attack, hitting the second highest number of attacking rucks on his side.
While his red card against South Africa in November is a blot on the copybook, he’s enjoying a strong season both for Leinster and Ireland this season, seemingly unaffected by the Lions hangover that has been doing the rounds.
The 79-cap Ireland international turns 30 this summer, and his forwards coach Paul O’Connell believes his best days are still ahead of him.
"He's getting better and better," O’Connell said of Ryan earlier this week.
"He's had a lot of experiences, whether they're big wins, big losses, getting picked, not getting picked and getting the feedback that goes around that.
"I think he's moving really well. He's moving the best I've seen him since I've been involved with Ireland at the moment. When you get an injury-free run, that can tend to happen.
"He's done an awful lot of work on his tackle and on the back of that, he's really confident and is able to lead that part of the game in terms of being physical in the tackle.
"It's a real sweet spot he's in at the moment and it's been great to watch him."
That defensive appetite is something Ryan (above) is keen to feed.
"I'd like to think defensively has always been a strength of my game. I like getting into the defensive contest, into as many battles as I can.
"Paulie often talks about cornering the market and playing to your strengths, getting better at what makes you a good player.
"Defensively I'd like to think it's always been a good part of my game so I've just tried to keep improving that.
"I suppose I've learned so much off Simon [Easterby] in here and obviously Jacques [Nienaber] since he's come in to Leinster.
"A big part of defence in here is having the mindset to get off the line and to get into the tag contest. So that's always been at the forefront of my mind."
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