Ronan O'Gara: How France got their front door kicked in and house turned upside down

After 24 minutes in the Velodrome, Jack Crowley misses a kickable penalty. Five minutes later, his international career is launched. The Tadhg Beirne try is a thing of beauty but there’s something more important than the aesthetic.

GREEN GIANTS: France's Jonathan Danty tackles Ireland's power centre Bundee Aki. Jack Crowley awaits developments. Pic: Ben Brady, Inpho

FRENCH rugby is in a bad place this week. Before he heads off to the Sevens ahead of the Paris Olympics, Antoine Dupont underlined once more in Toulouse colours how he writes poetry in a different verse to anyone else on the planet. A pair of sumptuous moments early and late against Bayonne on Saturday were all supporters of the national team required to complete their post-Marseille misery.

Here last week, I detailed the attributes that make Greg Alldritt the player he is and the captain of France he will be but the scale of his disappointment after Ireland schooled his side will be measured in months, not days. The commentariat here have reached deep into the archives to find anything comparably shocking on their own doorstep. The search goes on.