Among all the bristling, sparkling attacking flair that France produced to run Ireland a merry dance in Paris last weekend, it would have been easy to miss Mickael Guillard's crucial contribution.
Wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored two finisher's tries, star scrum-half Antoine Dupont was flawless in his France comeback, fly-half Matthieu Jalibert hypnotised with his creativity and offloads, centre Nicolas Depoortere beat seven defenders and full-back Thomas Ramos ran 95 metres with ball in hand.
But it was the unassuming second row Guillard who took home the man-of-the-match award, despite being replaced with half an hour still to play.
Sud Ouest newspaper described him as "a formidable weapon" and the "hybrid of the future" following his Ireland showing, in reference to his ability to also play in the back row.
In those 50 minutes on the pitch, the 25-year-old Lyon forward managed a game-high 16 carries – only one of his teammates surpassed half of that number, and Oscar Jegou played the entire 80 minutes for his nine carries.
Sports daily L'Equipe said Guillard's "battering-ram strikes" had helped "crack open" the Irish defence.
"I really like carrying the ball so I made myself available as much as possible for my teammates," said Guillard.
"They passed to me a lot, so that's great. I was delighted to get the ball so much."
Guillard made more than 50 metres with those carries and also earned an assist with a pass inside for second row partner Charles Ollivon's first-half try, a curious choice when he had an easier more obvious option outside him in the form of speedy wing Theo Attissogbe.
"I called him from inside and he was nice to give me that little present," said Ollivon, adding that "I won't forget that".
Having watched back the move later, Guillard admitted that Attissogbe would have been the better option.
"I wanted to involve the forwards (in the try-scoring), I was confident in Charles, so I passed it inside," joked Guillard after the match.
Ollivon's was the only one of France's five tries scored by a forward.
France's attack coach, Patrick Arlettaz, praised Guillard for having "played like a three-quarter" in the move, adding that Ollivon "finished it like a winger".
Alongside Jegou, Guillard also topped the French stats for turnovers won, with two each.
'HE MEETS EXPECTATIONS'
It has been a fairly meteoric rise for Guillard, a player who takes a purple teddy bear given to him by his partner whenever he goes away with either club or country.
He only made his debut for a weakened France team shorn of many regulars in July 2024, off the bench in a 28-13 win away to Argentina.
Guillard was given his first start a week later in a 33-25 defeat to the Pumas and has been almost ever-present since.
Many people only really started taking notice of Guillard in November when Galthie first dropped stalwart La Rochelle No 8 Gregory Alldritt for their opening Autumn test against world champions South Africa.
Guillard lined up in Alldritt's place in the back row that day and has alternated between playing as a No 8 or a lock.
"There's not much difference in the game plan between playing at five or eight," said Guillard after his starring role against Ireland.
He was injured for France's other two autumn tests but impressed enough to ensure that he kept his place when the Six Nations began, albeit with a positional change.
"In terms of movement, impact and fighting spirit, he meets the expectations of the very highest level," France forwards coach William Servat said of Guillard.
Whether it is at lock or at No 8, Guilllard now looks like a fixture in Galthie's team, and a man with a very bright test future ahead of him.
🏅 Tonight's #Guinness Player of the Match, @FranceRugby's Mickaël Guillard 💪#GuinnessM6N #Since1883 #FRAIRL pic.twitter.com/HFi2wfmlpv
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 5, 2026