Ireland show their superiority against title holders France
MATCH REPORT: Ireland recorded their 13th successive home win, beating the Six Nations title holders France 32-19 at Landsdown Road on Saturday.
The fixture between number one Ireland and second-ranked France certainly lived up to the expectation as both teams delivered a great performance, respectively.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!!
However in the end Andy Farrell's troops were slightly more clinical, scoring four tries for the bonus-point victory.
The defeat saw France's dreams of a successive Grand Slam success dashed while their national record run of 14 consecutive Test victories came to an end.
For Ireland, the win saw head coach Andy Farrell secure his first win over France since he took over after the 2019 World Cup.
France struck first with Thomas Ramos slotting over a penalty in the fifth minute.
The Irish stormed into the lead with a sublime try when prop Finlay Bealham sold a dummy pass to Conor Murray and fed fullback Hugo Keenan who burst through the French defence to touch down.
Irish skipper Johnny Sexton converted for 7-3 in the 10th minute.
The trusty boot of Ramos reduced the gap on the quarter hour mark, converting a penalty for 7-6.
France then produced a dream try which began inside their own 22 before Anthony Jelonch passed to Damian Penaud who brushed off Murray before running in for his 22nd Test try. Ramos converted for 13-7.
There was an immediate reply from the Irish as they regained possession when Ramos's clearance kick was deflected.
The ball came out wide to James Lowe, who still had work to do but somehow managed to touch the ball down in the corner with his legs over the touchline. There were questions around the time of the grounding and Lowe's feet in the touch which resulted in a review by the TMO. However, with inconclusive evidence referee Wayne Barnes stuck with his onfield decision and awarded the try.
Emotional Sexton
Sexton failed to convert, leaving the French 13-12 up.
The momentum of an engrossing game swung back to the Irish after French prop Uini Atonio was sin-binned for a high tackle on Rob Herring.
However, the hosts took advantage immediately with Porter burrowing over. Sexton converted for 19-13.
The French were on the back foot but fortunately for them, Ramos was once again on hand to keep the scoreboard ticking over. The fullback converted a long-range penalty for 19-16.
The Irish rounded off an incredible first half with Sexton slotting over a penalty for a 22-16 lead.
Ramos had the first opportunity of the second period but he failed for the first time with the boot, his long-range penalty dropping just short.
However, with just over half an hour to go the hosts lost their talisman.
A clearly upset Sexton trudged off, his head in his hands. He had received treatment to his left leg early in the second period.
Ross Byrne assumed the playmaking role and he landed a penalty just prior to the hour mark to extend the lead to 25-16.
Ramos made one last telling contribution before being replaced by dropping a goal to bring the deficit back to six points at 25-19.
However, it was the Irish who turned on the pressure and got deserved reward when tCaelan Doris found Garry Ringrose on the left wing and he fended off French defenders to touch down.
Byrne converted for 32-19 leaving the French a huge task with just six minutes remaining of keeping their hopes of the Grand Slam alive.
It was not to be as one final French attack petered out and Sexton rose from his seat pitchside to celebrate what will be his last Six Nations victory over the French.
Man of the match: Ireland wing James Lowe kept asking questions from the France defence while his boot also added value to the game plan. Ireland centre Gary Ringrose put in a couple of solid carries. Conor Murray put his body on the line with some great snipes but was denied by great defence on two occasions. Andrew Porter was physical in the pack, while Josh van der Flier was again very productive at the breakdown. Former French captain Charles Ollivon was impressive. Prop Cyril Baille tackled like a monster. Damian Penaud was simply a joy to watch, his quick footwork was a major threat to Ireland. Besides his incredible skills to influence the game, Antoine Dupont was incredible on defence. The scrumhalf made two crucial try-saving tackles. However, our nod goes to Ireland loose forward Caelen Doris, the No.8's workrate was beyond words. His tackle rate was well into the double figures, while his carries got his team over the gain line almost every time.
Moment of the match: Hugo Keenan's try in the ninth minute of the match really brought the game to life. With France enjoying the early dominance and a 3-0 lead, the hosts gradually worked their way into the match and set-up a marvellous counter-attack which saw Keenan split open the French defence and ran 50 metres for the try. The move certainly gave France a taste of their own medicine. However one has to say the moment of the match belongs to Antoine Dupont. The French captain made a try-saving tackle on Mack Hansen in the 36th minute. He showed immense strength as he kept the Ireland wing up in the tackle and literally stopped him in his tracks.
Villain of the match: Referee Wayne Barnes' decision to award a try to Ireland wing James Lowe in the 20th minute leaves a very bitter taste in what was a great contest. Whether it was a lack of video footage or the TMO's inability to find a suitable angle - the replays certainly show Lowe's foot touched the grass outside the field of the play.
The scorers:
For Ireland:
Tries: Keenan, Lowe, Porter, Ringrose
Cons: Sexton 2, Byrne
Pens: Sexton, Byrne
For France:
Try: Penaud
Con: Ramos
Pens: Ramos 3
Drop Goal: Ramos
Yellow card: Uini Atonio (France, 25 - High and dangerous tackle)
Teams
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (captain), 9 Conor Murray, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Bundee Aki.
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Ethan Dumortier, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille.
Replacements: 16 Gaetan Barlot, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Francois Cros, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Baptiste Couilloud, 23 Matthieu Jalibert.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)