But they were completely blown away as Leicester, with their mobile and destructive forwards and Tuilagi and Seru Rabeni coming in off their wings, started to take control.
The fanfare over the release of its A380 was dampened by a variety of production issues, including cabin wiring issues, cracks that appeared inside some of the wings, and an engine that blew apart during the take-off of a Qantas Airways flight departing Singapore in 2010.
The B-1B has a "variable-geometry" or swing-wing design: The wings are swept forwards, almost at right angles to the body, for take-off and landing and cruising.