{"id":25057,"date":"2022-02-09T13:01:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T18:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25057"},"modified":"2022-02-09T13:02:02","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T18:02:02","slug":"conway-wary-of-france-but-warns-theres-more-to-come-from-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25057","title":{"rendered":"Conway Wary Of France But Warns There’s More To Come From Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ireland take on the pre-tournament favorites in Paris on Saturday (PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Conway expects France to be a \u201cdifferent animal\u201d to Wales but has warned there is still plenty more to come from in-form Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland take on the pre-tournament favorites in Paris on Saturday after beginning their Guinness Six Nations campaign by cruising to a bonus-point win over Wayne Pivac\u2019s reigning champions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Munster wing Conway \u2013 who battled a sickness bug amid claiming two tries in last weekend\u2019s championship opener in Dublin \u2013 believes Andy Farrell\u2019s remain capable of significant room for further improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there is so much growth in the team in that we didn\u2019t actually play that well,\u201d he said, reflecting on beating Wales 29-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe played quite well but there\u2019s so much more in us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe detail that we\u2019ve looked at \u2013 detail even we were chatting about in the changing room afterwards \u2013 about how much better we can be is pretty clear for us to see in here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously this weekend is going to be a different animal altogether, and it\u2019s going to be a way, way tougher match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably one of the most exciting places to go in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conway crossed twice in quick succession in the second period against the Welsh to move on to 15 Test tries from 28 caps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 30-year-old was denied the chance of a hat-trick after being withdrawn with just under 20 minutes remaining, although he was not too disappointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conway initially thought he was suffering pre-Test anxiety before experiencing a bout of vomiting during the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m grand, I\u2019m fine,\u201d he said. \u201cI just felt a bit \u2018dodge\u2019 on Friday night. But to be honest I didn\u2019t even think I was feeling dodgy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re preparing for Test match at times obviously there are nerves, and it\u2019s a big occasion, so I didn\u2019t even realize until I started puking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what happens is you use your mind to not allow it in, you just convince yourself that you are feeling fine, you don\u2019t say it to anyone, unless you\u2019re really struggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce I got one out of me, it wasn\u2019t going to stop until I was empty, so probably a wise decision to get me off because if the ball came down my way at one stage I wouldn\u2019t have been much use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following an ideal start to the tournament, Ireland\u2019s squad had the luxury of being able to sit back and watch France begin with a 37-10 defeat of Italy the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conway feels a tricky trip to the Stade de France will provide a yardstick of the team\u2019s progress during a nine-match winning run which began last February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are a proper good team, they are a seriously good team,\u201d he said of France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got threats across the board, a massive pack, they are very agile as well, they\u2019re well able to play ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd then their backline speaks for itself \u2013 there\u2019s probably 14 of them I could name that can do serious damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an unbelievably exciting challenge, and it\u2019s something that\u2019s going to give us a really good idea of where we\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n

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