Ireland have ended France's 14-match winning run with a 32-19 bonus-point victory over their biggest rivals for the Six Nations title in a breathless game between the world's top two teams that really lived up to its billing.
A gripping first half on Saturday featuring four tries — three of them to Ireland, including an amazing one-handed finish from James Lowe — gave way to a more attritional but equally absorbing second half.
France hung on grimly until centre Garry Ringrose went over for the match-clinching 73rd-minute try.
France, the defending champions, lost for the first time since November 2021 against a team they'd beaten in their last three meetings.
The top-ranked Irish are now firm favourites for a first Six Nations title since 2019, having opened the tournament by collecting five points for hammering Wales 34-10.
"It was a huge game, two great teams going at each other," Ireland coach Andy Farrell said. "The fighting spirit was great but we also played some great stuff.
Both teams scored stunning tries, with Damian Penaud getting France's with an effort that began with the winger bursting out of his own 22, exchanging passes with flanker Anthony Jelonch, and then holding off two would-be tacklers to sprint over the line.
Lowe's was different — and might have been even better.
Short of room in the left corner, the New Zealand-born winger took off in the air under a challenge from Penaud and managed to ground the ball one-handed near the flag with his body virtually horizontal over the touchline.
Footage appeared to suggest one of his feet had scraped the grass while out of touch — but the try was given.
Lock Tadhg Beirne and key five-eighth Johnny Sexton went off injured in the second half for Ireland, who have a two-week break before their third match, away to Italy.
France, who won in Italy in round one, host Scotland next with their ambitions of back-to-back grand slams having been extinguished.
The Irish played like they had a point to prove, with France the only major nation they had not beaten since Farrell took over as coach after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Either side of Lowe's try were scores by fullback Hugo Keenan — off a clever move from a ruck where Australian prop Finlay Bealham was first receiver and deceived the French with an inside pass to Keenan — and the other prop Andrew Porter, who barged over in the 27th.
Porter's try came while France were down to 14 after Uini Atonio was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle on Rob Herring, whose face was struck by the shoulder of the French prop as he came crashing in for the tackle.
France did not concede any more points without Atonio but that was only because of some impressive last-ditch defending, notably from Antoine Dupont, who showed remarkable strength to hold Ireland's other Aussie Mack Hansen away from the try line despite being off-balance.
Thomas Ramos booted over a penalty to trim France's deficit to 19-16 before Atonio returned only for Sexton to kick his own with the last action of the half to re-establish Ireland's six-point lead.
And that was the cushion Ireland had heading into the final 10 minutes, after Ramos's 62nd-minute dropped goal, before Ringrose shrugged off a French tackler in a rampaging run down the left flank and trundled over to kill off the hopes of France and its 6,000 travelling supporters.
In the other game of the day, Scotland thrashed Wales 35-7 at Murrayfield to start the championship with back-to-back wins for the first time since 1996, when it was the Five Nations (without Italy, who joined in 2000).
The final game of the second round will be tomorrow morning Australian time, when England and Italy will try to earn their first win of the tournament when they meet at Twickenham.
AP/ABC
