Ronan O'Gara: Are France trending downwards? Dublin will tell the tale

From quite some way back, the French management and squad has been targeting the second round of the Six Nations. Their eye might not have been totally on Italy. But it will be on Ireland

OBESESSION: France’s star man Antoine Dupont kicks. 'The French obsession with kicking the leather off the ball has been well ventilated here and elsewhere in recent months'. Pic: INPHO/Giuseppe Fama

France conceded a startling eighteen penalties in Rome last Sunday as they stumbled over the line against Italy.

It seems a remarkably undisciplined performance, and it was, but there are some mitigating factors – or at least, a rational explanation.