It’s been years since the championship last had a match between the two best teams in the world, and, if you didn’t know that these two were going to square off against each other all over again this time next year, you might say it would be years more before it throws up another game quite like the one they played here in Dublin. Ireland won it. It was their first victory against France in three years, and the first by anyone, anywhere, since the summer of 2021.
It was a game that spun and twisted in the wind, all wild breaks, walloping collisions, frantic tackles and fingertip passes. It stretched every last sinew, bruised every last bone, drew every last breath. When it was all over, the 57,000-odd fans inside the stadium had just enough sense left to mutter: “Well bloody hell.”
Caelan Doris had some match …
What a shot this is, by the way:
I’m off to cover Scotland vs Wales, why not join me?
A great game that fizzled out a bit as Ireland started to quietly dominate the last quarter; but make not mistake, Andy Farrell’s team are looking every bit champions-elect.
FULL TIME! Ireland 32 - 19 France
A superb win for Ireland in Dublin!
80 mins. France are having a few phases, and Ireland are containing them, albeit illegally with the latest attempts. It’s a blue lineout with the clock in the red coming.
78 mins. France have the ball, but they are pinned in their own 22 and it gets worse as Dupont is charged down when attempting to kick clear.
Nothing for Ireland to do here but wait for the victory…
75 mins. Dupont has his first sniff of a gap and is through it and into the Ireland half; he has Penaud in support and tries to find him with an angled grubber rather than an a pass. It’s a scramble for the ball that the retreating Aki wins to secure possession for the home side again.
What a match Caelan Doris has had.
TRY! Ireland 32 - 19 France (Garry Ringrose)
72 mins. It’s yet more phases for Ireland in the France 22 as the home side ruthlessly work the possession, territory and clock.
They are doing nothing particularly noteworthy apart from grinding the French tacklers over and over again, until the ball comes left to Doris who offloads – AGAIN! – this time to Ringrose who springs forward up the touchline to score.
Game over, and it’s a bonus point win.
Updated
Dave Kilcoyne is on for Porter.
Francois Cros replaces Ollivon
67 mins. Ireland look most likely at the moment, with Casey bringing some zip to the phases and the bench forwards leading the carries. The latest attack ends in a France drop-out as Penaud is forced to run a kick touch-in-goal.
Updated
65 mins. Romain Taofifenua gets his hands on the ball to kill an Ireland ruck, win the penalty and allow Ntamack to clear the ball into touch.
Mcloskey is off for Bundee Aki.
63 mins. The latest Ireland attack in the French half gets a little scrappy, so Casey does a fabulous left-foot round-house kick on the ball from the base of the ruck to send it to touch in the France 5m zone.
DROP GOAL! Ireland 25 - 19 France (Tomas Ramos)
61 mins. France are up to double-fugures in phases on the Ireland 22. There’s plenty of effort through the forwards, but it’s not moiving forward much and so Ramos takes a sensible three-point option.
That will be his final contribution as the fullback is replaced by Matthieu Jalibert.
Updated
PENALTY! Ireland 25 - 16 France (Ross Byrne)
58 mins. Keenan kicks a fabulous 50:22 and a few carries and phases from Ireland can’t breach the French defence. There was a blue infringement in the midst of it and Byrne takes the three.
56 mins. Many, many subs.
Jack Conan is on for O’Mahony, and Craig Casey comes in for Murray
Reda Wardi, Sipili Falatea comes on for France, replacing Cyril Baille and Uini Atonio
Updated
55mins. The ball goes straight through O’Mahony’s hands at the lineout and France are on the attack through Penaud once again drifting of his wing to create running mischief. Ireland are up to the challenge, and Lowe fields a driven kick on the volley and returns it with interest, rolling the ball into touch on the France 22.
53 mins. A few minutes of tactical kicking comes to and end as Ramos finds touch on the Ireland 10m line.
51 mins. Herring goes long at the lineout to O’Mahony who knocks it on as he attempts to gather the ball on the run.
Sekou Macalou replaces Alldritt, who has a quiet one for him.
48 mins. Penaud receives the ball in the left 13 channel having come off his wing, he goes forward with that usual style that makes it looks like he’s about to trip over, but somehow in the most balletic and athletic way imaginable. He appears this close to breaking free, but Keenan grips him and Ireland then win the penalty at the ruck to much home cheering.
Johnny Sexton is off for Ross Byrne, and you can hear the mass, in unison gulp from the Ireland fans as far as Drogheda.
Updated
MISSED PENALTY! Ireland 22 - 16 France (Tomas Ramos)
45 mins. Ramos gives it the full foot cannon from deep, but it doesn’t have the accuracy.
44 mins. Another progression into the 22 for Ireland after Doris pops a cheeky offload to Lowe on the left, but Ollivon nicks it back a few phases later at the ruck. They immediately go left to Dumortier who rampages forward before Hansen eventually hauls him down. Somewhere in there was an Irish infringement.
Tadhg Beirne looks hurt as he comes off for Iain Henderson.
Romain Taofifenua is on for Paul Willemse.,
Updated
Herring is off permanently, by the way, having failed the HIA.
42 mins. Ireland have some prods forward around the halfway line, but the French defence are fanned out and committing very few to the ruck, meaning Murray has little option but to kick it away.
SECOND HALF!
Sexton chips us back underway
“That’s a shocking refereeing decision from Barnes.” fumes Liam Coen.
“Shoulder to the head of Herring from Antonio, who was driving forward at full height. And Barnes says he’s wont start his adjudication from a high level of danger. How are we supposed to protect players with refereeing like that? And he sent Herring for a HIA only as an afterthought. Shameful.”
@bloodandmud great try from Lowe but I'm a bit surprised they didn't look at the last pass beforehand for being very close to forward. What do you reckon?
— Mike B / @digitaldogsbody@code4lib.social (@Digi_Dogsbody) February 11, 2023
I reckon that they barely bother looking for forward passes anywhere these days, so I’d be upset if we were robbed of the spectacle of that score because they wanted to start now.
HALF TIME!
PEEEEEP! An absorbing half comes to a close.
Updated
PENALTY! Ireland 22 - 16 France (Johnny Sexton)
40 mins. The Irish forwards work it around the left of the scrum and towards the posts, it’s moving an inch at a time towards the line before Murray again drives and swivels towards the line but he drops it under huge pressure from blue defenders.
It was on an advantage so Sexton decides it time to conserve some energy and extend the lead by taking the points.
38 mins. Murray is held up over the line as he attempts to dive and score near the posts, but Ireland will have another attack before halftime from a scrum five.
37 mins. Doris, who is having a monster of a game, nicks the ball at a French ruck as a visiting attack was gathering momentum. Keenan has run up the right and his kick forward puts Ramos under all sort of pressure that he cant handle and the ball pops to Hansen. The winger drives for the line from 3 metres but Antoine Dupont, who clearly has the strength of ten bears, not only holds him up but drives him into touch.
PENALTY! Ireland 19 - 16 France (Tomas Ramos)
32 mins. It’s another penalty for France, this time for Ryan not rolling away quickly enough on the ground. Ramos gives his side (and my typing fingers) a break by calling for the tee and hammering it over from about 45 metres.
Two minutes until Atonio returns.
Updated
30 mins. Ireland are back in the French 22 after a big run from Sexton, who pops the ball to Doris to continue forward. Again the France defensive scramble does enough to slow it down, but the green attack keeps coming before there’s a neck-roll on a blue defender at the ruck, allowing Ntamack to clear from the awarded penalty.
Rob Herring has gone off for an HIA, replaced by Kelleher.
TRY! Ireland 19 - 13 France (Andrew Porter)
26 mins. In the aftermath of the Atonio tackle, Ireland took a scrum close to the France line and after a couple of drives from the base Porter grabs the ball from the ruck and forces over from a metre.
Sexton converts from in front.
Updated
Anyone looking at that decision can only conclude that refs are now looking for any reason not to give a red. Everything about the way Atonio tackled was wrong: upright, no real wrap of the right arm, driving shoulder at chest/throat. It was a pure accident of physics that he didn’t really hurt Herring.
YELLOW CARD! Uini Atonio (France)
25 mins. Dupont has a trademark run, but the ball runs loose from the ruck, allowing Ireland to spring up the right through Beirne and Keenan. The scramble is good from France so the ball comes left and Atonio rattles Herring’s skeleton with a ball and all hit that looks very upright.
It was at high force, and looks like his top of arm/chest, then onto the head. Barnes has a look and decides it was through the chest and up, so not a high degree of danger and thus a yellow.
TRY! Ireland 12 - 13 France (James Lowe)
20 mins. Lowe takes the ball on the touchline and drive to the left corner. He dives full stretch and as Penaud tries to push him into touch the big wing keeps his feet up and somehow gets the ball down in a handkerchief sized patch of ground before it kisses the whitewash. Sexton can’t convert.
SOME BLOODY GAME THIS!
Updated
TRY! Ireland 7 - 13 France (Damian Penaud)
17 mins. For about two minutes, the ball is being kicked back and forth before Ntamack throws a horrible pass behind Fickou and into his own 22 which causes Ringrose to overcommit to smashing Ramos. It all looks a total shambles until the full back gets it away, and two passes later Jelonch is rampaging up over halfway, offloads to Penaud off his wing to drift and sprint on the angle to score!
Breathless, mindless, wonderful stuff.
Ramos adds the two.
Updated
PENALTY! Ireland 7 - 6 France (Tomas Ramos)
14 mins. These opening minutes have shown, if we didn’t know already, that these are two very well matched, top quality sides. Each possession is crisp and organised, with the latest from France moving up to the Ireland 10m line and Hansen is offside at the ruck to give Ramos another chance to kick sticks.
The French fullback tees it up and slots it with little fuss.
TRY! Ireland 7 - 3 France (Hugo Keenan)
9 mins. From the lineout, Ireland catch and drive before sending it right for a carry by Ryan that gets it up near the line. A few more carries from short metres take them into double figures of phases before Porter forces over the line, but Dupont holds the ball up!
France boot the drop out long and on the return, Bealham the prop (!) is at first receiver (!!) and does an old fashioned dummy loop and pop move (!!!) to toss the ball inside to Keenan coming on a deep and rapid angle to gallop in from 25 metres. He grounds it under the attention of a couple of French defenders
Sexton converts.
Updated
6 mins. Ireland come back with a very Ireland response: a fast move through hands left with Sexton on the loop find Lowe who bunts it forward with his left boot. Ramos struggles to filed the bouncing ball and ends up in touch close to the line.
PENALTY! Ireland 0 - 3 France (Tomas Ramos)
4 mins. A solid return from an equally solid start for Les Bleus
Updated
3 mins. A period of possession from France has plenty of phases but the Ireland defence keeps them trapped within the ten metre lines in the middle third of the pitch. Eventually, Beirne doesn’t roll away quick enough in the tackle.
Ramos call for the tee…
1 min. Ireland deal with the kick-off tidily, but James Lowe’s booming clearance hits the spidercam, meaning the home side must play out from a scrum on their own 22.
KICK OFF!
Ref Barnes toots his whistle and Ntamack boots us deep and into action
“So nervous sitting here on my sofa. Come on Ireland!” pleads Olive O’Brien.
The teams are out to the soundtrack of U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name”, Ireland led out by Andrew Porter, Dave Kilcoyne and James Ryan – each celebrating their 50th cap today.
Pre Match Reading
Andy Farrell wants some full marmalising action from his team this week. Read what he actually said here…
Updated
Officials
For those of you wondering who will be tooting the flute of rebuke this afternoon, look no further:
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referee 2: Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Teams
Ireland are without Dan Sheehan and his indefatigable dynamism at hooker through injury, so Rob Herring steps in. In the backs, Jamison Gibson-Park is still not fit and so veteran Conor Murray starts again at nine to parter Johnny Sexton, who has passed the HIA protocols this week.
Fabien Galthie has decided to give the same starting XV from Italy the chance to show they can at least not give away 18 penalties and see how that goes. Some changes on the bench, though, as Baptiste Couilloud is scrum-half cover and Francois Cros is added to the back row replacements.
IRELAND: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Andrew Porter, Rob Herring, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan, Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, Jack Conan, Crag Casey, Ross Byrne, Bundee Aki
FRANCE: Thomas Ramos; Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Yoram Moefana, Ethan Dumortier; Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont (c); Gregory Alldritt, Charles Ollivon, Anthony Jelonch, Paul Willemse, Thibaud Flament, Uini Atonio, Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille
Replacements: Gaetan Barlot, Reda Wardi, Sipili Falatea, Romain Taofifenua, Francois Cros, Sekou Macalou, Baptiste Couilloud, Matthieu Jalibert
Preamble
Welcome to Dublin, one and all for the beginning of round two of this year’s Championship, and the game that could well decide it all.
Almost twelve months ago to the day, at the same stage of the tournament, the Stade De France witnessed Les Bleus race to 22-7 up before Ireland fought back but were not able to prevent France grabbing both the match, and the belief to push on to the Grand Slam. This year, it’s Ireland who will want this outcome (while avoiding the being 15 points behind bit, probably).
Andy Farrell brings his squad home after an emphatic win in Cardiff last week, earned playing at something resembling 60% of the capacity to perform. Some of that was about Wales rallying in the second half, but there is also a slowly creeping feeling that Ireland are just that bit less formidable than they were at peak 2022 form.
France have a arguably more extensive issue, as their penalty riddled showing while squeaking a win vs Italy demonstrated. How much of that has been fixed in the last seven days will be tested to the full extent this afternoon.
If last year’s game is anything to go by, this should be a humdinger.
Updated
