Ireland's Grand Slam bid in ruins

FT: Ireland 19 France 26

Ireland’s Grand Slam bid was left in ruins at Lansdowne Road this afternoon as France weathered a late fightback to cling onto victory.

A 72nd-minute try from Brian O’Driscoll hauled Ireland back into the reckoning after they had appeared destined for defeat at half-time, but Christophe Dominici’s late touch down sealed the result.

Dominici, along with debutant Benoit Baby, crossed in the first half to put France in the driving while the boot of Ronan O’Gara kept Ireland in touch.

Ireland stepped up a gear in the final quarter as the balance of power shifted in their favour and it was O’Driscoll who hauled his side back into the match with a try out of nothing.

He blasted through a busy midfield, shrugging off one tackle, and found himself in space with only Laharrague to beat – a task he managed with a sweet side-step which carried him under the posts, making it a simple conversion for O’Gara.

But Ireland were caught out by their own ambition as they tried to break from close to their own line in search of the winning score, losing the ball in a dangerous position.

No one was at home on the blindside and prop Sylvain Marconnet had the time to feed Dominici

who strolled over for the winning score.