LAST UPDATE | 14 Feb 2023
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PUBLICLY SAYING YOU think you’re fitter than the team you’re about to play against is a big statement but James Lowe is never anything other than honest.
Speaking last week, he agreed that France were big boys but indicated that Ireland fancied their chances of beating them on the stamina front. The French would have seen this as an affront, having placed a massive emphasis on improving their conditioning under Fabien Galthié.
With an incredible ball-in-play time of 46 minutes and 10 seconds on Saturday, we got a chance to find out if Lowe was right. For context, the average ball-in-play time in the 2021 Six Nations was just over 38 minutes. Whenever a game tips beyond 40 minutes, players notice it in their legs and lungs. So 46 minutes is in the kind of territory where fellas are nearly out on their feet.
To be fair, France were a big part of this high ball-in-play time. Ireland did kick infield a lot, limiting the French lineout attack threat.
Indeed, les Bleus had to wait until the 28th minute for their first lineout. But it wasn’t as if Galthié’s men were looking for the touchline at every opportunity.
They kicked infield regularly too and with a combined 76 kicks in play between the sides [that's a lot], there was plenty of running up and down the pitch for both teams, along with the massive collisions. It’s energy-sapping stuff.
All of this meant that the final half-hour of the game was going to make for fascinating viewing as we looked to assess who had that bit more puff left. It became all the more intriguing when Ireland lost their talisman Johnny Sexton, who is so adept at managing games.
When it came down to the exhausting closing stages, one has to say that Ireland edged it. The little moments told us so much, with Ireland summoning energy and displaying clarity in their decision-making. Winning the last 30 minutes on a scoreline of 10-3 was crucial in the final result.
We join the action in the passage of play just after Sexton has been forced off. Garry Ringrose makes a tackle on Yoram Moefana near Ireland’s left-hand 15-metre line.
Ringrose stays on his feet in the tackle and reloads into the defensive line at the fringe of the breakdown as Stuart McCloskey competes for the ball.
France’s attack now swings back to Ireland’s right and we see remarkable work-rate from Ringrose, highlighted in yellow in the shot below.
We’ve also zoomed in on Lowe, who is signalling for fullback Hugo Keenan to work across to the right-hand side of the Irish backfield as France now attack back to that side of the pitch.
As we see below, Keenan gets on his bike in characteristic fashion but just watch Ringrose’s effort coming from the edge of the ruck . . .
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