Welcome to the era of bonkers rugby. Reports of the sport’s demise, circa last November and specifically in the wake of the Springboks’ scrum-based destruction of the Irish pack, would appear to have been premature. The inaugural Nations Championship had the kind of springboard that the organisers of any competition must dream of, with Ireland’s epic 33-31 win over the Wallabies in a captivated and full-capacity Allianz Stadium in Sydney typical of the opening weekend.In all, the opening round of six games in the “southern series” yielded almost nine tries and 64 points per match, with eight teams accruing attacking bonus points and another couple earning losing bonus points. What is more, in each instance conditions were, ideal. Unlike in the rain-sodden Lions third Test defeat last August, the Sydney rain had abated and given way to perfectly pleasant sunshine in the days before Australia took on Ireland and that made for a calm, windless evening in what passes for wintertime Down Under. Meanwhile, Christchurch proudly unveiled its glistening new, chic, enclosed, multipurpose, 30,000-capacity One New Zealand Stadium for the All Blacks’ thrilling 34-32 win over France. Back home, sports fans could only look on in envy as New Zealand doubled its tally of indoor rugby stadiums, whereas the lack of any joined-up thinking and the costs of building so much as a porch make the concept of having even one such arena in Ireland the stuff of fantasy.In Christchurch, the teams traded nine tries and the lead exchanged hands five times. Then the Wallabies and Ireland shared 10 tries in a contest in which the lead changed for the seventh and final time when Sam Prendergast nervelessly converted Thomas Clarkson’s 77th-minute try. Ben Donaldson missed a penalty in overtime with the last kick of a weekend that typified Australia’s sporting woes given the Socceroos’ earlier exit from the World Cup. Dan Sheehan scores for Ireland against Australia on the first weekend of the Nations Championship. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Asked whether he had expected it all to be this high-scoring, Andy Farrell said: “Well, I mean, a dry ball, a great day for playing rugby. You saw the French-New Zealand game under the roof. A dry-ball game. Teams want to attack, with the way the game is now.“It’s pleasing to see that everyone’s having a crack and I thought you saw that from Australia from the get-go. We had to play catch-up in that regard, but it’s pleasing that we were able to do that and have a good second-half performance.”This was only one weekend but nonetheless this was, Farrell admitted, some start for the biennial competition.“That’s the reality, isn’t it? It’s a tournament and we ended up with five points, which is great. When you scrape through, at the end, in a high scoring game like that, to get five points, that would be the pleasing thing, I would have thought.”Were this a traditional end-of-season tour, Ireland’s win would have set up a three-Test series à la 2018 very nicely, with the Wallabies smarting and looking to win next Saturday to set up a decider seven days later.Ireland's Jimmy O'Brien and Bundee Aki after the win in Australia. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Instead this is the inaugural Nations Championship and there are points at stake, so it remains to be seen how deeply Farrell will delve into his 36-man squad for next Saturday’s meeting with Japan in Newcastle, New South Wales.Farrell tends not to hand out caps like confetti, believing they are best earned the hard way and that teams must have a strong base. And Japan’s 27-10 opening-round win over Italy in Tokyo, commands respect. Ireland want to still be in contention in the “northern series” of this Nations Championship next November, Farrell agreed team selection was a balancing act. “It is, but they’re a good side, Japan, and you saw the result with the Maoris last week,” he said in reference to the New Zealand Maori side coming from 31-14 behind to beat Cherry Blossoms by 38-31 in Nagoya, Japan, last Saturday week. “That wasn’t the full-strength [Japan] side. They play some good rugby and we all know how improved Italy are. I’ve not watched it [yet], but that’s a hell of a win.“To give people time in the saddle, experience etc at an international level, I certainly believe you’ve got to put them in a good team as well, so we’ll see who earns the right to do that,” said Farrell.Australia's Harry Wilson was dejected after his team's defeat by Ireland. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Additionally, despite the five-point haul in the Allianz Stadium, the competitive status of these first three games means Farrell will want his squad to travel on to Auckland next Saturday with another win and nine or 10 points to their name. The expectation is that the unfortunate Jeremy Loughman will be stood down for a mandatory 12-day period after suffering concussion within 10 minutes of coming on as a second-half replacement against Australia. In that scenario, the uncapped 20-year-old Enda Bohan could feature against Japan while Ireland will have to delve further into their pool of loose-heads. The win over Australia was achieved despite the late withdrawal of Robert Baloucoune, who provides an X factor for this Irish team, due to a tight hamstring. But the 28-year-old Enniskillen flyer is expected to be fit for the remaining two games of this tour.“We think so, yeah,” said Farrell. “It’s just a tweak. Didn’t want to risk him.” Baloucoune is made for this Nations Championship lark.