For this weekend at least, Dublin has a French quarter. By the time the final whistle went at the Aviva Stadium, the thousands of French fans inside, outside and all around the ground were cheering, screaming, roaring, singing, dancing, in celebration of one of the great victories.
They had travelled in huge numbers and been rewarded with five tries and 42 points, a record score for them in this city, revenge in plenty for the 21-point thrashing by Ireland in Marseille last year. France are favourites for the championship now and the Irish are squaring up to the kind of existential hangover you get by being so completely beaten in a match that had so much riding on it.
