After the euphoria, some difficult questions remain

After a worrying Six Nations losing streak on the road, with only one championship success in the last five away fixtures — and that against Italy in Rome last season — Joe Schmidt cut a mightily relieved man to have got this opening win in Paris under his belt.

He had forecast all week that Saturday’s Six Nations opener was going to go to the wire but with a kick to extend a one-point lead to four with just minutes remaining, reserve French out half Anthony Belleau had the opportunity to copperfasten what would have been a remarkable French win against the odds.

By missing that kick, Ireland were presented with a lifeline to go and rescue the clash — easier said than done. The clear advantage Ireland carried into this game in terms of experience, with 609 starting caps to 246 for France, had counted for little up to that point.

Of more significance was the impact off the Irish bench comprising 210 caps as opposed to their French counterparts with just a measly 16 between the eight of them.

Rarely has this Irish side been so sloppy in possession and guilty of some poor decision making.

The kicking game was nowhere near as effective as we anticipated and the excellence of the French defensive effort, given their complete lack of game time together, meant that Ireland never really threatened the try line.

Yet, experience has to count for something at some stage in the match and when the chips were really down, Ireland found a way, kept their composure through 41 breathtaking phases of play to put themselves in a position to win.

Even then, with the match clock in the red and referee Nigel Owens poised to blow the full-time whistle with Ireland marooned 35 metres from the French posts, someone had to make the call to go for gold.

With the French in danger of conceding a penalty on at least two occasions during that amazing, energy-sapping sequence of play, Owens wasn’t prepared to make any marginal, match-deciding, call.

In the end, Johnny Sexton made it. Great players step up to the mark when the need is greatest and rarely has Ireland’s need been greater than this.

To lose the opening game of the campaign for a second year in a row would have been devastating given what Irish rugby has achieved since denying England a Grand Slam in Dublin last March.

From all of 43 metres, Sexton took the only option available to him to rescue Ireland from the brink of disaster.

His composure under pressure was remarkable not just in the key moment of execution but earlier on in the build-up with his nerveless decision to kick pass the width of the field to find Keith Earls when any slight misjudgment could so easily have put the ball out of play.

Factor in also that at one stage in that invigorating closing sequence, Sexton was on the deck dealing with a dose of cramp yet still found the inner calm and steely resolve to get back on his feet, compose himself and pick the right moment to pounce.

His brilliantly struck drop goal made it with little or nothing to spare and both sets of players sunk to their knees, one in ecstasy the other in total disbelief.

That’s why sport has the capacity to wreck heads. France deserved more but this group of Irish players were not prepared to go quietly.

That remarkable closing sequence of phase play will offer a silver lining to the players and management when this contest is reviewed and dissected back in camp today but having survived a searing examination of this magnitude and with three home games on the bounce to come, the scope for improvement is massive.

Having outflanked and outsmarted us on all fronts last autumn to deliver a World Cup hosting in 2023 that we dared believe was Ireland’s by right, there was always the possibility that on the field, despite all the self-inflicted wounds they continue to bring to bear on their national side, France might somehow cobble together a passionate and committed performance to derail a more efficient and well-oiled Irish machine.

Unlikely but still possible and it nearly — some might say should — have come to pass.

All the indicators in advance of this contest pointed conclusively to an Irish win but you still have to go out and perform, something Ireland failed to do in the corresponding fixture in Murrayfield last season and went within a whisker of repeating on this occasion.

This win now clears the deck for that trio of games against Italy, Wales and Scotland and a chance to build on the positive energy that flows from an adrenaline-charged win of this nature.

Given that Ireland had only sampled two wins against the French in Paris since 1972, despite facing some pretty mediocre French sides over that period, this victory is not to be sniffed at.

How they prevailed is another question, given a very mixed display characterised by unforced errors and a largely ineffective kicking game that continually fed a crowded backfield where France supplemented their back three with at least one back row presence in No 8 Kevin Gourdon.

That left space to be exploited elsewhere but, apart from a very promising opening period when Ireland fed the wide channels, creating opportunities for Earls and Jacob Stockdale, who appeared to have a license to roam, Irelandfailed to create any meaningful scoring chances.

It didn’t help the cause either that the French back row was more effective on the deck and continually frustrated Ireland’s attempts to create quick ball.

A more direct approach after the break with Dan Leavy making a big impact when introduced for the unfortunate Josh Van Der Flier, pressurised the French into the concession of a string of penalties that Sexton capitalised on.

While Ireland only conceding a creditable six penalties in total, a number of those were in the attacking zone, which eased the pressure on the callow hosts and enabled them clear their lines.

That gave the French the will to hang in and the belief to keep working hard.

That was rewarded in the best possible manner when their flying winger Teddy Thomas scored a wonder try, leaving several Irish defenders flailing in his wake at a time when Ireland were content to play a dangerous containment game.

With Belleau converting, suddenly France found themselves a point ahead for the first time in the game with only seven minutes remaining but they just couldn’t close the deal.

While they defended manfully in that manic closing period, lasting the frantic pace far better than most of their recent predecessors, they just couldn’t do enough to deny Sexton his one moment of genius to salvage what, to that point, was a desperate situation.

Ireland will be better next time out and they will need to be as they are already on the back foot given the highly impressive bonus-point win achieved by Wales over Scotland.

Bonus points and points differential will play a big part in the ultimate destiny of this championship but, in this instance, a narrow two-point win was never so gratefully received and celebrated by this group of Irish players.