Cronin has proud French record

Sean Cronin stares into the dregs of his Americano and up at the ceiling of the café in Clonskeagh as his thoughts slosh around and he struggles with a definitive answer.

“Have I ever lost a game in France?” he says, repeating the question.

For a few seconds there exists the very real possibility the man from Limerick may possess the type of unblemished record on the continent which past generations of Irish players could only dismiss as fantasy.