ON A WET and grey Parisian afternoon, a short queue slowly snakes below ground level into the belly of the Louvre. There’s not an Ireland rugby jersey in sight. Nothing unusual about that on face value, but it still represents a very different experience to The 42’s last visit to a Parisian museum.
At the Musée d’Orsay on the morning of 23 September 2023, it felt as if most of the museum’s visitors were wearing Irish colours. Later that night, Ireland would beat South Africa 13-8 in a gripping World Cup pool game. Dreams of Ireland reaching new ground filled the Parisian air. A whole new world was waiting. A gutting quarter-final defeat to New Zealand felt like the opportunity dying for a golden generation.
Ireland haven’t been back in Paris since those memorable World Cup days (with the 2024 Six Nations meeting played in Marseille) and this occasion feels very different. At least during daylight hours. The game was shifted forward to a Thursday night given the Winter Olympics demands prime TV time from Friday. It’s not a major consideration for Irish sports fans – Ireland are sending four athletes to the games – but in France it’s a big deal, with a record 161 athletes heading to Italy. And so, there’s no Irish wave washing over the city on a dull and damp February morning.
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Irish supporters in Paris. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
A 9.10pm kick-off allows for a full day exploring one of the world’s great cities. As we move into the core of the Louvre, many make their way straight for the Mona Lisa, shuffling by any number of masterpieces on their way.
Do any of them know that one of the great modern French artistes, Antoine Dupont, is due to put on an exhibition in the north of the city later that day?
There’s around 35,000 pieces of art on display, but only one known by every single person filing through the doors here on any given day. The Mona Lisa room isn’t too busy, and so we secure a prime location straight in front of Da Vinci’s masterpiece. Do a 180, and the sprawling Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Caliari is, in this writer’s opinion, even more impressive. Four lads in Irish jerseys stand in front of it and wrap arms as someone snaps their picture.
After admiring Mona, we ask a staff member for directions to the Apollo Gallery and are met with a tired laugh. All day long, he’s been telling people the room which previously housed the French crown jewels has remained closed since the morning of 19 October, when four thieves snatched around €87m worth of jewellery in a heist using a ladder, some axle grinders and a broken window. The smash and grab was daringly simplistic and remarkable in its execution. Sometimes the plan doesn’t need to be overly complicated to deliver the desired result.
Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Caliari.
Hours later, Andy Farrell and his Ireland team arrive at the Stade de France looking to hit Paris with their own smash and grab. It’s been a long time since an Irish side were so heavily unfancied to do a job against the French in France. They are not the rampaging Ireland team French fans remember from 2023. The likes of Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls are by now long gone – although Sexton does have his boots on this evening as part of Farrell’s coaching team. Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy followed out the door last year. Tadhg Furlong, Andrew Porter, Hugo Keenan, Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw and Ryan Baird are playing no part through injury or suspension. James Lowe misses out on a notable form call.
Optimistic Irish fans hope a team with a different feel to it can deliver something special against the odds. The pessimists fear a scoreline closer to Ireland’s visits to the French capital in the 80s and 90s. If Ireland are indeed on a slide, surely we can comfort ourselves with the notion things won’t disintegrate to the level of those mid-90s days; Ireland lost 45-10 here in 1996.
It takes all of 20 minutes for worst fears to materialise. Already, the visitors are 12-0 down and low on ideas. Farrell’s men have had just 31% of the possession and 36% of the territory. Having started well, kicking smartly and operating smoothly at the set-piece, Ireland abandon that early gameplan as France start slicing through, first via the whippet Louis Bielle-Biarry, before Matthieu Jalibert crosses. Thomas Ramos kicks a penalty following a poor decision by Joe McCarthy. Before the half is out, Charles Ollivon has extended the French lead following another lethal counter-attack.
Antoine Dupont slips past Tadhg Beirne and Caelan Doris. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
France are ravenous, with Antoine Dupont orchestrating the night while hardly breaking a sweat. Half-time brings a welcome break from the battering by Les Bleus. Across an utterly dominant first half, France don’t concede a single penalty.
In the second, France continued to create acres of space in the Ireland backfield. The bonus-point try, scored by Bielle-Biarrey, sees Dupont clip a ball over the top before Ramos uses his boot to flick it wide to the Bordeaux bomber – wonderful, inventive play.
An hour in, Nick Timoney slips through a gap to finally put Ireland on the scoreboard. At least one unwanted record won’t be set tonight. Strong carries off a lineout send Michael Milne through moments later. While the rally was welcome, for too much of this game Ireland’s attack was simply non-existent.
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The comeback never felt likely, France happy to keep their visitors at arms’ length across the final quarter. The defending champions look well-placed to defend their title, and perhaps even complete the slam when they host England here on the final weekend. When they play like they did tonight, there’s not a more entertaining team to watch.
Ireland are slipping further into the chasing pack, and with a trip to Twickenham also on their itinerary this championship has the potential to be the toughest window for Farrell since those wonderful World Cup days. They’ll welcome key players back over the coming weeks but tonight was the sorry continuation of the worrying trend we saw in last year.
Tonight felt as bleak as it ever has under Farrell.
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Battering by Les Bleus felt like a defeat from the bad old days
ON A WET and grey Parisian afternoon, a short queue slowly snakes below ground level into the belly of the Louvre. There’s not an Ireland rugby jersey in sight. Nothing unusual about that on face value, but it still represents a very different experience to The 42’s last visit to a Parisian museum.
At the Musée d’Orsay on the morning of 23 September 2023, it felt as if most of the museum’s visitors were wearing Irish colours. Later that night, Ireland would beat South Africa 13-8 in a gripping World Cup pool game. Dreams of Ireland reaching new ground filled the Parisian air. A whole new world was waiting. A gutting quarter-final defeat to New Zealand felt like the opportunity dying for a golden generation.
Ireland haven’t been back in Paris since those memorable World Cup days (with the 2024 Six Nations meeting played in Marseille) and this occasion feels very different. At least during daylight hours. The game was shifted forward to a Thursday night given the Winter Olympics demands prime TV time from Friday. It’s not a major consideration for Irish sports fans – Ireland are sending four athletes to the games – but in France it’s a big deal, with a record 161 athletes heading to Italy. And so, there’s no Irish wave washing over the city on a dull and damp February morning.
A 9.10pm kick-off allows for a full day exploring one of the world’s great cities. As we move into the core of the Louvre, many make their way straight for the Mona Lisa, shuffling by any number of masterpieces on their way.
Do any of them know that one of the great modern French artistes, Antoine Dupont, is due to put on an exhibition in the north of the city later that day?
There’s around 35,000 pieces of art on display, but only one known by every single person filing through the doors here on any given day. The Mona Lisa room isn’t too busy, and so we secure a prime location straight in front of Da Vinci’s masterpiece. Do a 180, and the sprawling Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Caliari is, in this writer’s opinion, even more impressive. Four lads in Irish jerseys stand in front of it and wrap arms as someone snaps their picture.
After admiring Mona, we ask a staff member for directions to the Apollo Gallery and are met with a tired laugh. All day long, he’s been telling people the room which previously housed the French crown jewels has remained closed since the morning of 19 October, when four thieves snatched around €87m worth of jewellery in a heist using a ladder, some axle grinders and a broken window. The smash and grab was daringly simplistic and remarkable in its execution. Sometimes the plan doesn’t need to be overly complicated to deliver the desired result.
Hours later, Andy Farrell and his Ireland team arrive at the Stade de France looking to hit Paris with their own smash and grab. It’s been a long time since an Irish side were so heavily unfancied to do a job against the French in France. They are not the rampaging Ireland team French fans remember from 2023. The likes of Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls are by now long gone – although Sexton does have his boots on this evening as part of Farrell’s coaching team. Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy followed out the door last year. Tadhg Furlong, Andrew Porter, Hugo Keenan, Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw and Ryan Baird are playing no part through injury or suspension. James Lowe misses out on a notable form call.
Optimistic Irish fans hope a team with a different feel to it can deliver something special against the odds. The pessimists fear a scoreline closer to Ireland’s visits to the French capital in the 80s and 90s. If Ireland are indeed on a slide, surely we can comfort ourselves with the notion things won’t disintegrate to the level of those mid-90s days; Ireland lost 45-10 here in 1996.
It takes all of 20 minutes for worst fears to materialise. Already, the visitors are 12-0 down and low on ideas. Farrell’s men have had just 31% of the possession and 36% of the territory. Having started well, kicking smartly and operating smoothly at the set-piece, Ireland abandon that early gameplan as France start slicing through, first via the whippet Louis Bielle-Biarry, before Matthieu Jalibert crosses. Thomas Ramos kicks a penalty following a poor decision by Joe McCarthy. Before the half is out, Charles Ollivon has extended the French lead following another lethal counter-attack.
France are ravenous, with Antoine Dupont orchestrating the night while hardly breaking a sweat. Half-time brings a welcome break from the battering by Les Bleus. Across an utterly dominant first half, France don’t concede a single penalty.
In the second, France continued to create acres of space in the Ireland backfield. The bonus-point try, scored by Bielle-Biarrey, sees Dupont clip a ball over the top before Ramos uses his boot to flick it wide to the Bordeaux bomber – wonderful, inventive play.
An hour in, Nick Timoney slips through a gap to finally put Ireland on the scoreboard. At least one unwanted record won’t be set tonight. Strong carries off a lineout send Michael Milne through moments later. While the rally was welcome, for too much of this game Ireland’s attack was simply non-existent.
The comeback never felt likely, France happy to keep their visitors at arms’ length across the final quarter. The defending champions look well-placed to defend their title, and perhaps even complete the slam when they host England here on the final weekend. When they play like they did tonight, there’s not a more entertaining team to watch.
Ireland are slipping further into the chasing pack, and with a trip to Twickenham also on their itinerary this championship has the potential to be the toughest window for Farrell since those wonderful World Cup days. They’ll welcome key players back over the coming weeks but tonight was the sorry continuation of the worrying trend we saw in last year.
Tonight felt as bleak as it ever has under Farrell.
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