SACRÉ BLEU. IRISH fans’ worst fears were realised at Stade de France as Andy Farrell’s team were shredded by les Bleus, who opened this Six Nations with a major statement of their Grand Slam intent.
While Fabien Galthie’s men will roll on in their bid for a clean sweep, Ireland will limp home after a night that became nightmarish at times in Paris.
The French were brilliant as they earned a superb bonus-point win, but this was a very bad trip for Farrell’s men. As France cut loose, it brought the bad old days of hammerings in Paris vividly back to life.
There was something of a rally from Ireland in the second half as replacements Nick Timoney and Michael Milne grabbed tries, but France appeared to have gone into cruise control by that stage, with the game done and dusted as a contest.
And the French finished with a bang as they grabbed their fifth try right at the death in this brilliant stadium, which crackled with energy and joy as France showed their quality.
Shorn of several key players due to injury, Ireland were always going to be up against it at Stade de France, but they failed to fire any shots until France were 29-0 ahead. It was a miserable Irish showing that will lead to great worry about how this Six Nations is going to unfold for them.
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Nick Timoney scores for Ireland. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
France were on a different level as the dashing Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored two tries, while Matthieu Jalibert, Charles Ollivon, and Theo Attisogbe joined in the fun. Brilliant fullback Thomas Ramos did the rest of the damage off the tee.
But Ireland’s inability to impose themselves and bring anything to the party until it was far too late was deeply concerning. Their attack struggled badly as they made repeated errors, their contestable kicking game didn’t get enough reward, and they simply lacked composure in all the pressure moments. Defensively, they struggled too.
Without their missing men, Farrell had said Ireland would find out all about themselves in Paris. But he and they will not like what they pitched up with. Ireland were second best in nearly every aspect as they struggled to cope with the speed and panache of this classy French side, who were buoyed by the return of Antoine Dupont.
Ireland lacked inspiration and didn’t have any standout performances in the starting XV, although the bench did well when they were sprung in the second half. It was a tough night for young out-half Sam Prendergast, but he wasn’t the only one who struggled.
Although Tadhg Beirne tried to drag Ireland back into the game and Stuart McCloskey carried aggressively, the reality is that many of Farrell’s longstanding key men didn’t perform for him on the big stage.
Ireland had actually made an encouraging start after the spectacular pre-match show at Stade de France, with Farrell’s tactical plan revolving around lots of contestable kicks.
Yet they couldn’t win enough of them back or turn the early territorial gains into a settling score, with Sam Prendergast’s offload knocked on in the French 22 by Josh van der Flier.
And then the game utterly transformed in the 13th minute as Prendergast volleyed a bouncing ball close to the right touchline and it stayed infield, with French pouncing for a lethal transition try.
Thomas Ramos and Yoram Moefana did brilliantly to get the ball into the hands of Bielle-Biarrey, and he scooted away from Gibson-Park and Prendergast before scorching past the stretching Jacob Stockdale to finish.
Momentum was massively in France’s favour and they nearly scored a second after 20 minutes, with Jamie Osborne just denying Nicolas Deporteere from scoring before Prendergast intercepted his offload. But the Irish out-half carried the ball over his own line and threw a panicked pass to Tommy O’Brien, who was grounded.
Scrum five to France, from where Matthieu Jalibert strolled over on the shortside after nice work from Dupont to draw in Gibson-Park. Prendergast barely laid a finger on Jalibert as his opposite number cruised over, O’Brien unable to slow him either.
France soon tacked on another three points off the tee when Joe McCarthy was penalised under the Irish posts and les Bleus led 15-0.
Ireland’s composure was lacking and they made mistakes when they got their hands on the ball, as for the third French try 33 minutes in. Van der Flier spilled the ball over the left touchline, France went quick, and surged at Ireland.
Jalibert chipped over the Irish defence and batted his own kick back to François Cros, who found loosehead prop Jean-Baptiste Gros in space. Gros did brilliantly to draw Prendergast and free lock Mickaël Guillard, whose inside pass sent Charles Ollivon over.
Ireland limped to the half-time whistle 22-0 down.
But they couldn’t regroup and France were in the mood for doing more damage. Their bonus point try was a thing of beauty as Dupont dinked a short kick over a midfield ruck and Ramos surged forward to sensationally volley it with his left foot, a delicate touch that took it into the path of the speedster, Bielle-Biarrey, for the finish.
Dan Sheehan dejected after France's fourth try. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Farrell turned to his bench and they managed to finally bring some impetus for Ireland.
It was Tadhg Beirne’s breakdown turnover that gave Ireland a sniff in the French 22 and from there, Crowley and Prendergast slipped Stuart McCloskey into space before he offloaded for sub back row Nick Timoney to finish smartly, stepping Bielle-Biarrey.
There was still a quarter of the game left and Ireland suddenly seemed to sense that there was more there for them.
They kicked a penalty down into the French 22, won the lineout, and then Michael Milne made two savage carries after coming on at loosehead prop. The Munster man surged over from close range off Beirne’s pass for a TMO-confirmed try.
The likes of Jack Crowley, Milne, Timoney, and James Ryan seemed to have got Ireland going off the bench, but it wasn’t to be a comeback. Rónan Kelleher thought he had a third Irish score with around seven minutes to go, but the TMO review ruled it out.
Down the other end soon, Ireland just about managed to hold up Depoortère as the French tried to finish with a flourish.
And so, Farrell’s men finished under the pump amid the French celebrations and songs, with Attisogbe scorching into the right corner before Ramos rubbed more salt in the Irish wounds with his conversion.
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France scorers:
Tries: Louis Bielle-Barrey [2], Matthieu Jalibert, Charles Ollivon, Théo Attissogbe
Conversions: Thomas Ramos [4 from 5]
Penalties: Thomas Ramos [1 from 1]
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Nick Timoney, Michael Milne
Conversions: Sam Prendergast [2 from 2]
FRANCE: Thomas Ramos; Théo Attissogbe, Nicolas Depoortère, Yoram Moefana (Kalvin Gourgues ’50), Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont (captain) (Baptiste Serin ’74); Jean-Baptiste Gros (Rodrigue Neti ’50), Julien Marchand (Peato Mauvaka ’50), Dorian Aldegheri (Régis Montagne ’50); Charles Ollivon (Hugo Auradou ’50), Mickaël Guillard (Emmanuel Meafou ’50); François Cros (Lenni Nouchi ’63), Oscar Jégou, Anthony Jelonch.
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France shred Farrell's Ireland on nightmarish night in Paris
France 36
Ireland 14
SACRÉ BLEU. IRISH fans’ worst fears were realised at Stade de France as Andy Farrell’s team were shredded by les Bleus, who opened this Six Nations with a major statement of their Grand Slam intent.
While Fabien Galthie’s men will roll on in their bid for a clean sweep, Ireland will limp home after a night that became nightmarish at times in Paris.
The French were brilliant as they earned a superb bonus-point win, but this was a very bad trip for Farrell’s men. As France cut loose, it brought the bad old days of hammerings in Paris vividly back to life.
There was something of a rally from Ireland in the second half as replacements Nick Timoney and Michael Milne grabbed tries, but France appeared to have gone into cruise control by that stage, with the game done and dusted as a contest.
And the French finished with a bang as they grabbed their fifth try right at the death in this brilliant stadium, which crackled with energy and joy as France showed their quality.
Shorn of several key players due to injury, Ireland were always going to be up against it at Stade de France, but they failed to fire any shots until France were 29-0 ahead. It was a miserable Irish showing that will lead to great worry about how this Six Nations is going to unfold for them.
France were on a different level as the dashing Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored two tries, while Matthieu Jalibert, Charles Ollivon, and Theo Attisogbe joined in the fun. Brilliant fullback Thomas Ramos did the rest of the damage off the tee.
But Ireland’s inability to impose themselves and bring anything to the party until it was far too late was deeply concerning. Their attack struggled badly as they made repeated errors, their contestable kicking game didn’t get enough reward, and they simply lacked composure in all the pressure moments. Defensively, they struggled too.
Without their missing men, Farrell had said Ireland would find out all about themselves in Paris. But he and they will not like what they pitched up with. Ireland were second best in nearly every aspect as they struggled to cope with the speed and panache of this classy French side, who were buoyed by the return of Antoine Dupont.
Ireland lacked inspiration and didn’t have any standout performances in the starting XV, although the bench did well when they were sprung in the second half. It was a tough night for young out-half Sam Prendergast, but he wasn’t the only one who struggled.
Although Tadhg Beirne tried to drag Ireland back into the game and Stuart McCloskey carried aggressively, the reality is that many of Farrell’s longstanding key men didn’t perform for him on the big stage.
Ireland had actually made an encouraging start after the spectacular pre-match show at Stade de France, with Farrell’s tactical plan revolving around lots of contestable kicks.
Yet they couldn’t win enough of them back or turn the early territorial gains into a settling score, with Sam Prendergast’s offload knocked on in the French 22 by Josh van der Flier.
And then the game utterly transformed in the 13th minute as Prendergast volleyed a bouncing ball close to the right touchline and it stayed infield, with French pouncing for a lethal transition try.
Thomas Ramos and Yoram Moefana did brilliantly to get the ball into the hands of Bielle-Biarrey, and he scooted away from Gibson-Park and Prendergast before scorching past the stretching Jacob Stockdale to finish.
Momentum was massively in France’s favour and they nearly scored a second after 20 minutes, with Jamie Osborne just denying Nicolas Deporteere from scoring before Prendergast intercepted his offload. But the Irish out-half carried the ball over his own line and threw a panicked pass to Tommy O’Brien, who was grounded.
Scrum five to France, from where Matthieu Jalibert strolled over on the shortside after nice work from Dupont to draw in Gibson-Park. Prendergast barely laid a finger on Jalibert as his opposite number cruised over, O’Brien unable to slow him either.
France soon tacked on another three points off the tee when Joe McCarthy was penalised under the Irish posts and les Bleus led 15-0.
Ireland’s composure was lacking and they made mistakes when they got their hands on the ball, as for the third French try 33 minutes in. Van der Flier spilled the ball over the left touchline, France went quick, and surged at Ireland.
Jalibert chipped over the Irish defence and batted his own kick back to François Cros, who found loosehead prop Jean-Baptiste Gros in space. Gros did brilliantly to draw Prendergast and free lock Mickaël Guillard, whose inside pass sent Charles Ollivon over.
Ireland limped to the half-time whistle 22-0 down.
But they couldn’t regroup and France were in the mood for doing more damage. Their bonus point try was a thing of beauty as Dupont dinked a short kick over a midfield ruck and Ramos surged forward to sensationally volley it with his left foot, a delicate touch that took it into the path of the speedster, Bielle-Biarrey, for the finish.
Farrell turned to his bench and they managed to finally bring some impetus for Ireland.
It was Tadhg Beirne’s breakdown turnover that gave Ireland a sniff in the French 22 and from there, Crowley and Prendergast slipped Stuart McCloskey into space before he offloaded for sub back row Nick Timoney to finish smartly, stepping Bielle-Biarrey.
There was still a quarter of the game left and Ireland suddenly seemed to sense that there was more there for them.
They kicked a penalty down into the French 22, won the lineout, and then Michael Milne made two savage carries after coming on at loosehead prop. The Munster man surged over from close range off Beirne’s pass for a TMO-confirmed try.
The likes of Jack Crowley, Milne, Timoney, and James Ryan seemed to have got Ireland going off the bench, but it wasn’t to be a comeback. Rónan Kelleher thought he had a third Irish score with around seven minutes to go, but the TMO review ruled it out.
Down the other end soon, Ireland just about managed to hold up Depoortère as the French tried to finish with a flourish.
And so, Farrell’s men finished under the pump amid the French celebrations and songs, with Attisogbe scorching into the right corner before Ramos rubbed more salt in the Irish wounds with his conversion.
This night will be remembered in Irish rugby for all the wrong reasons.
France scorers:
Tries: Louis Bielle-Barrey [2], Matthieu Jalibert, Charles Ollivon, Théo Attissogbe
Conversions: Thomas Ramos [4 from 5]
Penalties: Thomas Ramos [1 from 1]
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Nick Timoney, Michael Milne
Conversions: Sam Prendergast [2 from 2]
FRANCE: Thomas Ramos; Théo Attissogbe, Nicolas Depoortère, Yoram Moefana (Kalvin Gourgues ’50), Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont (captain) (Baptiste Serin ’74); Jean-Baptiste Gros (Rodrigue Neti ’50), Julien Marchand (Peato Mauvaka ’50), Dorian Aldegheri (Régis Montagne ’50); Charles Ollivon (Hugo Auradou ’50), Mickaël Guillard (Emmanuel Meafou ’50); François Cros (Lenni Nouchi ’63), Oscar Jégou, Anthony Jelonch.
IRELAND: Jamie Osborne (Craig Casey ’73); Tommy O’Brien (Jack Crowley ’50), Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Jeremy Loughman (Michael Milne ’60), Dan Sheehan (Rónan Kelleher ’63), Thomas Clarkson (Finlay Bealham ’60); Joe McCarthy (James Ryan ’50), Tadhg Beirne; Cian Prendergast (Jack Conan ’50), Josh van der Flier (Nick Timoney ’50), Caelan Doris (captain).
Referee: Karl Dickson [RFU].
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Six Nations down and out France Ireland Paris