French tour de force as Ireland’s frailties exposed

Ireland 19 France 26

France took Ireland on up front and won; they took them on everywhere else and won too. Only Brian O’Driscoll’s late try brought Eddie O’Sullivan’s side close to taking the game to the wire.

O’Driscoll’s 27th international try was pure genius, but had Ireland managed to scrape a win, it would have been a travesty.

France won this game because they played with determination and stuck to their game plan. Ireland looked like a side with no plan.

Fabien Pelous got a rousing reception as he celebrated his 100th appearance for the French. The welcome was not supposed to have extended beyond that, but it did despite the fact that Ronan O’Gara kept Ireland ticking over in a worrying opening 25 minutes. At that stage O’Gara had already broken David Humphreys’ scoring record but Ireland’s wind assisted return was modest. Three penalties from the out-half, a Yann Delaigue drop goal and Dimitri Yachvili penalty left the score 9-6 in Ireland’s favour.

The omens were not good, however, because Ireland’s line-out was being decimated and the scrum under savage pressure. In short, any ball Ireland won was invariably bad ball. Peter Stringer and O’Gara found it difficult to cope and Ireland’s back division struggled.

When France struck they did so in customary fashion. Christophe Dominici sped in for a 28th minute try when a long pass from Benoit Baby created the space. Four minutes later France once again exposed the Irish defence and Baby scorched over for a try converted by Yachvili - 18-9 to France.

O’Gara put Ireland within striking distance with his fourth penalty six minutes into the second half, but the cards were still stacked against the home side. Pelous and Jerome Thion continued to attack the Irish line-out with a degree of success and France prospered territorially as a result.

“We knew Ireland had a great line out. We set out to disrupt them, to challenge them at every turn and I think that tactic worked,” admitted Pelous later.

While Paul O’Connell and Malcolm O’Kelly covered a lot of ground and did a lot of good things and Shane Byrne could hardly be accused of lack of effort, questions must be asked about the accuracy of the hooker’s throws and the timing of the jumps.

Earlier in the week, O’Sullivan boasted that the Irish line-out would stand up to scrutiny and that the scrum, deemed vulnerable, would hold up. He was wrong on both counts.

Yachvili’s 60th minute penalty gave France a 21-12 lead and only Laporte’s misguided substitution of Delaigue gave Ireland hope. Once the change was made, O’Driscoll took full advantage when he rode the tackle from Delaigue’s replacement, Michalak, and cut through for a try, wrong-footing full-back Julien Laharrague in the process. O’Gara added the conversion and Ireland appeared to be back in business.

Three minutes later, however, Kevin Maggs knocked-on in an attacking position. It just about summed up the day for him and for Ireland. A couple of minutes left and Dominici went over for the third French try after Serge Betsen robbed O’Kelly - a direct result of untypically hesitant play from Stringer. Both Stringer and O’Driscoll questioned the validity of the try, but it counted.

Ultimately, in the quest for the consolation of a championship title, it could well be an horrific price to pay for a dismal performance. Points difference counts for everything at this stage.

Some Lions candidates also lost ground as a result of weak performances - Anthony Foley and Johnny O’Connor springing to mind.

IRELAND: G. Murphy (Leicester), G. Dempsey (Leinster), B. O’Driscoll (Leinster), K. Maggs (Ulster), D. Hickie (Leinster), R. O’Gara (Munster), P. Stringer (Munster), R. Corrigan (Leinster), S. Byrne (Leinster), J. Hayes (Munster), M. O’Kelly (Leinster), P. O’Connell (Munster), S. Easterby (Llanelli), A. Foley (Munster), J. O’Connor (Wasps). Replacements. M. Horan (Munster) for Corrigan, E. Miller (Leinster) for Foley (both 69).

FRANCE: J. Laharrague (Brive), C. Heymans (Toulouse), Y. Jauzon (Toulouse), L. Valbon (Brive), C. Dominici (Stade Francais), Y. Delaigue (Castres), D. Yachvilli (Biarritz), S. Marconnet (Stade Francais), S. Bruno (Sale), F. Pelous (Toulouse) captain; J. Thion (Biarritz), S. Betsen (Biarritz), J. Bonnaire (Bourgoin), Y. Nyanga (Beziers). Replacements. P. De Villiers (Stade Francais) for Mas (40),G. Lamboley (Toulouse) for Nyanga (54), F. Michelak (Toulouse) for Delaigue (71), W. Servat (Toulouse) for Bruno (75), P. Pape (Bourgoin) for Pelous (76).

Referee: T. Spreadbury (England).