The Six Nations is below manner and already a few issues are crystal clear. It will take a critically good group to beat France in Paris on this 12 months’s championship and watching them assault will probably be an absolute deal with. Eire weren’t a lot overwhelmed as outplayed by opponents who will probably be much more harmful with a dry ball at their disposal.
By no means thoughts the argument about temporary in-game adverts throughout ITV’s protection. Irish followers would in all probability have most well-liked a complete 80-minute blackout or, failing that, a whole night of cookery programming. As a substitute these again at residence needed to watch the guests being repeatedly sliced and diced by seemingly ravenous hosts. Speak about consuming your greens.
Had it been a drier night it actually may have been messy. Because it was the spectacularly good Louis Bielle-Biarrey nonetheless helped himself to 2 glowing tries and France’s close-quarters passing, kicking sport and inventive elan have been typically elegant. Eire arrived with a raft of accidents however, regardless of a second-half rally, they will now add bruised satisfaction to the checklist. Their head coach, Andy Farrell, was actually not on the lookout for excuses afterwards.
“You make your individual luck on this sport and also you make your individual luck by being forward of the sport in most issues which can be in all probability with out the ball,” he mentioned. “We actually misplaced that battle within the first half. Issues just like the excessive balls and profitable the scraps on the ground, and operating by means of tackles and ourselves lacking tackles, that’s the primary a part of the sport, isn’t it?
“We actually got here off second finest in that regard within the first half. Our response to that within the second half – and a gallant response – [was good] but it surely’s not what we need to be, a responding group. We have to present up from the get-go.”
France’s efficiency can even be meals for thought for the remainder of the sphere.
Whereas the Six Nations holders have been with out one or two key forwards themselves, you’d by no means have guessed it. Les Bleus usually are not but the completed article and eased off barely with the match already received however their promise is unmistakable. Eire, for his or her half, have been made to look poor for the opening 40 minutes and will probably be grateful to their bench for bringing a bit of extra second-half vitality on this experimental slot for a Six Nations opening fixture.
And possibly there’s a longer-term future for big-time Thursday night time rugby. The sunshine present contained in the Stade de France made it really feel like a Friday night time in all the pieces however identify and the Marseillaise was sung with simply as a lot gusto. Once they need to placed on a present in Paris there are few locations fairly as dazzling.
It was additionally nice to see Antoine Dupont again on Six Nations obligation for the primary time since wrecking his cruciate ligament towards Eire in Dublin final 12 months. Like everybody else, although, he was required to cope with situations that have been testing within the excessive. A sodden pitch and slippery ball could make life awkward even for the perfect playmakers.
France, although, got here near conjuring one thing miraculous within the opening minutes. A speedy assault down the left was in some way stored alive by Bielle-Biarrey who confirmed distinctive footballing means to dribble his facet inside vary of the Irish line. The ball ultimately rebounded ahead off Charles Ollivon but it surely was an early signal of the risk this younger French facet can provide.
Eire had been suitably warned. With solely 12 minutes on the clock the hosts had their first try to what a cracker it was. For a second Eire appeared to have cleared the hazard when Sam Prendergast hacked a ball up the touchline like a decrease league right-back clearing his strains. France, although, managed to maintain it alive and located the lurking Bielle-Biarrey, who slid out of a faucet deal with by Prendergast and rounded the final man so as to add additional gloss to his already shimmering popularity.
Eire’s solely possibility was to dig deep and battle like mad for all the pieces. Even that technique was barely sufficient as France poured ahead once more, denied a second attempt solely when Nicolas Depoortère’s ultimate move with the road begging ended up in Prendergast’s fingers reasonably than both of the 2 blue-shirted gamers outdoors him.
Once more it was solely a brief reprieve as France neatly exploited the territorial platform to work the alert Matthieu Jalibert over. The mass rush to congratulate the Bordeaux fly-half mentioned rather a lot about how the remainder of his group see their No 10, no matter his beforehand tepid relationship with the top coach, Fabien Galthié.
There was additionally no hiding the means and influence of the younger French lock Mickaël Guillard, one other with an enormous worldwide future forward of him. Again and again he got here on the lookout for work, forcing Eire to absorb a worrying variety of early tackles. The 25-year-old Lyon ahead can play, too, surging into the road to take care of yet one more French counterattack earlier than throwing a deft inside scoring move to the busy Ollivon,
With Thomas Ramos kicking nicely it made it 22-0 on the interval with Eire barely within the body. Other than one temporary second when Prendergast and Ramos have been in a shoulder-to-shoulder dash for a unfastened ball near the French line there was barely a second to make an Irish coronary heart flutter with optimism. Even then it might not have counted, with the referee, Karl Dickson, ruling Prendergast had unfairly impeded his opponent.
France didn’t even concede a single first-half penalty and their fourth attempt was one other collector’s merchandise, Ramos side-footing the ball to Bielle-Biarrey after Dupont’s little chip excessive. Eire did lastly avoid wasting face simply earlier than the hour mark when Nick Timoney crashed over and, shortly afterwards, his fellow alternative Michael Milne grabbed a second. It massaged the scoreboard ache barely however did little to change the broader narrative, a fact additional underlined by Théo Attissogbe’s late rating in the best nook.
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