World Cup hopes the furthest thing from Dillane’s mind

There was no doubting the satisfaction Joe Schmidt took from the heights Ireland scaled against France last Sunday, and yet the Kiwi coach wasn’t slow in pointing out how the collective performance fell off a cliff towards the end. Leading 26-0 with just three minutes of normal time to go in Dublin, the hosts were on course to better its record defeat of the French — a 24-0 whitewash in Cork back in 1913 — before the visitors claimed two converted tries inside the last three minutes.

Schmidt touched on that about-turn after the game, pointing out how at first the raft of replacements had managed to maintain the side’s momentum, focus, and energy before the team, somehow, lost its way and allowed the French to restore some pride. The result is that Ireland head to Cardiff on Saturday still seeking an 80-minute performance after five rounds of the Six Nations and knowing that a Welsh side chasing a Grand Slam on home soil will punish any drop-off in Irish levels far more than an abject France.