Murray Kinsella Reports from Paris

France 30

Ireland 24

AT ONE STAGE, it looked like Ireland would be well beaten but this one went down to the wire with high tension in Paris as France managed to squeeze home after a thrilling Guinness Six Nations game.

The game was on a knife-edge in the closing minutes despite Ireland having trailed 19-7 at the half-time break and looking second-best by a fair distance, particularly in the physical stakes against a big, powerful French pack.

Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

There was a sense that France could pull even further clear in the second half but Ireland were composed in slowly reeling them in, tries from Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park adding to Mack Hansen’s opportunistic first-half score.

Ireland had a big penalty decision in the 72nd minute and opted to go for the posts rather than chasing a fourth try by kicking into the corner, but that was to be their final scoring act of the game as France piled on late pressure down the other end.

There is huge disappointment for Ireland, of course, but the fact that they stayed afloat in trying circumstances and without their captain Johnny Sexton might offer head coach Andy Farrell some encouragement.

Ireland’s title bid is still alive and the losing bonus-point might come in handy, but France march on in search of a Grand Slam and their first Six Nations crown since 2010. They started this game brilliantly, captain Antoine Dupont finishing a stunning early try, and will likely have some frustrations about not winning more comfortably.

Ireland will have regrets. They were physically second best as the lineout and breakdown came under intense pressure, but there were more examples of how their attack has developed as Joey Carbery had a good game in the number 10 shirt.

There were massive 72-minute shifts from Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Porter, Garry Ringrose was brilliant in midfield, while Dan Sheehan had a real coming-of-age performance after being brought on in the first half to replace the injury Rónan Kelleher.

But this was France’s night.

Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

In beautifully dry and crisp conditions, France started superbly as Dupont started and  finished his side’s very first attack.

The scrum-half launched a quick lineout throw to halfback partner Romain Ntamack, who fed Yoram Moefana to step Garry Ringrose out on the left. France swung back into midfield for a massive carry by prop Uini Atonio and with a superb clearout, they pounced on the next phase as Ntamack offloaded beautifully out of Jack Conan’s tackle to Dupont on a characteristic inside support line.

Melvyn Jaminet offloaded and soon added another three points after Doris had spilled a poor Gibson-Park pass down in the French 22, allowing them to hack ahead and force a breakdown penalty down the other end.

Ireland looked rattled but suddenly charged back into the game from the very next restart as Hansen brilliantly gathered Carbery’s kick overhead and moving at speed, snatching it from right in front of the waiting Jaminet and sprinting home for his first Test try.

Carbery’s excellent conversion from the left touchline had Ireland back to 10-7 with 10 breathless minutes played but France were soon back

Dave Winter / INPHO Dave Winter / INPHO / INPHO

Influential lock Willemse won a breakdown turnover penalty in the Ireland 22 for Jaminet’s next three-pointer, while left wing Gabin Villière soon produced a big moment in contact as he drove Hugo Keenan into touch.

Ireland lost hooker Rónan Kelleher to what looked like an arm injury after just 26 minutes, with Dan Sheehan on earlier than expected, as the French pack’s awesome pysicality started to become even more apparent.

They weren’t error-free but they also played more delightful rugby. A brilliant double skip pass from Dupont to Damian Penaud sent the wing into space down the right, where he offloaded one-handed behind his back to Moefana. Struggling to cling on, Ireland jumped offside and Jaminet slotted the penalty for a 19-7 half-time lead.

Ireland did at least get captain James Ryan back from a brief stint off the pitch just before the break, but the French started in similar fashion as Jaminet hammered over a 45-metre penalty from out on the left just three minutes into the second half after Ireland were caught offside chasing a kick for the second time.

Porter won a breakdown penalty off the restart to give Ireland access into the French 22, though, and they scored in sudden fashion again as Josh van der Flier broke through the five-metre maul and bashed over with support from Doris. 

Again, Carbery slotted the touchline conversion and Ireland found themselves back to 22-14. They had momentum too, with Keenan breaking out of his 22 immediately after the restart and then another French penalty resulting in an Irish lineout in French territory.

Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

They probed at France for a couple of phases and then an excellent carry from Sheehan got them going forward, with scrum-half Gibson-Park brilliantly opting to snipe from a central breakdown, dummying his way past Willemse and scoring in the shadow of the posts.

Carbery’s conversion had Ireland back within a point with 30 minutes left to go, but France didn’t take long to reassert themselves.

First, Penaud and Villière threatened in the left corner with their footwork and power bringing les Bleus close only for Ireland to force them into touch.

Doris carried off the ensuing lineout but France’s breakdown pressure told again as Ireland lost control of the ball, with Atonio carrying off the turnover before prop partner Cyril Baille smashed over to score.

To their credit, Ireland came back at them again with Carbery looping off Ringrose beautifully only for the outstanding Villière to make another breakdown steal in the French half.

An overly long TMO review followed and gave everyone time to draw breath, Gardner correctly ruling that Ireland hadn’t deliberately obstructed Dupont off the ball as he chased a kick.

Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

With 15 minutes left, Farrell sent on Conor Murray and Robbie Henshaw as Ireland bid to finally get in front but his team lacked a little control around the breakdown, which continued to be a real battle every single time the away team carried.

An outstanding 50:22 down the left gave Ireland a big chance in the French 22 in the 67th minute but Iain Henderson, on for injured Peter O’Mahony, couldn’t win the lineout amidst more French pressure in the air. Ireland were soon having to scurry back into their own half as they once again lost control of the ball for Penaud to nudge it ahead.

Their attack fired again as the game ticked into the closing 10 minutes and they forced another penalty from France as the home team had to scramble.

With 72:00 on the clock, one felt Ireland would kick into the corner but instead captain Ryan pointed at the posts and Carbery closed the scoreline to 27-24. It was a curious decision.

France nearly added another try in the dying minutes but Sheehan did brilliantly to deny Jaminet with a superb tackle. Sadly for Ireland, advantage was playing and the fullback popped over the three points instead.

Ireland finished on the attack as replacement Jack Carty send Sheehan into space, but France held on and won back possession to seal their win.

France scorers:

Tries: Antoine Dupont, Cyril Baille

Conversions: Melvyn Jaminet [1 from 2]

Penalties: Melvyn Jaminet [4 from 4]

Ireland scorers:

Tries: Mack Hansen, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park

Conversions: Joey Carbery [3 from 3]

Penalties: Joey Carbery [1 from 1]

FRANCE: Melvyn Jaminet; Damian Penaud, Gaël Fickou, Yoram Moefana, Gabin Villière; Romain Ntmack, Antoine Dupont (captain) (Maxime Lucu ’70); Cyril Baille (Jean-Baptiste Gros ’55), Julien Marchand (Peato Mauvaka ’53), Uini Atonio (Demba Bamba ’55); Cameron Woki (Romain Taofifenua ’53) , Paul Willemse (Thibaud Flament’53); François Cros (Dylan Cretin ‘), Anthony Jelonch, Grégory Alldritt.