Deprived of its captain Antoine Dupont in the 29th minute due to a knee injury, the XV of France achieved a feat by winning against Ireland (42-27) on Saturday March 8 in Dublin, and takes the lead in the Six Nations Tournament which it can win next week against Scotland.
Despite the early exit of Antoine Dupont, Fabien Galthié’s men, thanks to an iron defense and cold realism on every occasion, disgusted the XV du Trèfle, double defending champion and who were aiming for the Grand Slam.
A festival against Italy (73-24) last week gave the Blues hope of a final victory in the Tournament. In Dublin, they perhaps achieved the benchmark match that they had been missing since the failure in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup against the South Africans.
After the frustrating failure at Twickenham (26-25), due to blunders, the Blues proved that they were capable of winning in a match with enormous stakes, and perhaps finally winning a trophy, only the second of Fabien Galthié’s mandate after the 2022 Grand Slam.
The only downside: the fate of Antoine Dupont, injured in one knee and who will probably miss the last crucial meeting against Scotland, Saturday March 15 at the Stade de France.
The Irish started the match at a frantic pace, monopolizing the ball, stifling the Blues who were cornered in their camp and forced to increase the number of tackles and desperate saves, like Alldritt lying under Doris in the in-goal (7th).
Antoine Dupont injured in the knee
Asphyxiated, hands on knees after ten minutes of play, the Blues nevertheless held on against the green waves, with courage and thanks in particular to an omnipresent François Cros (10 tackles in the first quarter of an hour).
Cold-blooded animal, the XV of France retaliated on its only big opportunity of the first period, taking advantage of its numerical superiority after a fault from the second row Joe McCarthy, for a crude shirt pulling on Thomas Ramos.
In the process, the inevitable Louis Bielle-Biarrey went for his try after a maul (21st) perfectly cornered by Antoine Dupont.
Until the tile, a few minutes later, when the Blues seemed to have redressed the situation and reversed the pressure. Coming to contest a ruck, Antoine Dupont came out injured (29th), seriously injured in the right knee after a virulent clearing by Tadhg Beirne.
Deprived of their captain and handyman, the Blues had to add their only three-quarter player on the bench, scrum half Maxime Lucu, due to the choice of seven forward benches.
As soon as the restart, the Irish took the lead, hooker Dan Sheehan scoring in the corner following a carried ball (43rd). But far from giving up, the Blues responded, Paul Boudehent allowing them to regain the advantage (47th), Irish winger Calvin Nash receiving a yellow for a high tackle on Pierre-Louis Barassi.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey then stunned the Irish by flattening his own kick to follow after a ride from Damian Penaud (50th, 22-13), for his third double of the Tournament.
The entry into play of the massive French bench tipped the scales of a crazy match even further. Two penalties from Thomas Ramos (56th, 68th) and a try from Oscar Jegou (59th), entered in the center, made it possible to push the helpless Irish a little further.
Before Damian Penaud, thanks to an offering from Thomas Ramos, scored his 38th international try (75th), equaling the record with Serge Blanco’s French XV. The anecdotal reductions in the score of Cian Healy (78th), for his last home match in the Irish jersey, then of Conan (80th + 1) did not change anything in the resounding French victory.
With AFP
