Six Nations: Ireland 15 France 27
Perhaps not surprisingly Ireland’s opening game in the Six Nations was both affirmation of the significant progress made over the last 12 months and the road they still have to travel if they are to become the side they aspire to be.
Ultimately, they will feel they let slip a genuine opportunity to beat France for the first time since 2017 in 33 minutes.
Typifying the strides made, the lineout – which was once their Achilles heel – and maul helped Ireland score three tries, and entering the last 15 minutes they even had a conversion to draw level against opponents who had just been restored to 15 after a 20-minute red card.
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But handling errors and penalties which had undermined Ireland’s first-half display returned to let a more experienced France off the hook. It didn’t help that the visitors won a crunch bout of kick-tennis and also had the more complete, accurate and ruthless attacking game.
Aoife Wafer was, as usual, a regular supplier of go-forward ball, her two tries garnishing a staggering 17 carries for 40 metres and 12 tackles. Erin King and Brittany Hogan also excelled in the backrow, Niamh O’Dowd put in a huge shift and Neve Jones was her usual energetic self as well locating her darts, while Aoife Dalton had a big influence on both sides of the ball, including a couple of turnovers.
However, Ireland would have felt profoundly frustrated returning to the dressing-room after both the half and full-time whistles. With France more clinical, Ireland trailed 17-5 at the break despite having as much of the possession and making more passes, metres and offloads, as well as making three line breaks to one. Yet one killer stat undermined much of their positive intentions – 15 handling errors to France’s three.
For all the benefits generated at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre over the last month, perhaps the Celtic Challenge just wasn’t of a sufficient standard to ready the players for such a leap.
It also didn’t help that the French scrum was virtually a guaranteed source of penalties and advantage plays, and both a quick throw and scrum penalty to the corner were early signals of France’s intent.
Although the maul was defended well, Pauline Bourdon-Sansus pulled the strings in the ensuing wave of one-off runners. The almost unstoppable French lock Madoussou Fall-Raclot twice made inroads before Gabrielle Vernier marked her 50th Test with a hard, late outside-in line on to her scrumhalf’s pass to score her 14th try for France, which Morgane Bourgeois converted.
Ireland did generate an opportunity for a swift response when Dalton made a big break and Amee-Leigh Costigan, Eve Higgins and Stacey Flood were in support but Dannah O’Brien slightly overcooked a cross-kick intended for Anna McGann, who was unmarked on the right touchline.
Wafer was already making dents in the blue line and ripped one turnover in the tackle, but five handling errors in the opening 16 minutes were compounded by Flook kicking fractionally out on the full for a second time.
The French maul rumbled towards the Irish 22 and Charlotte Escudero carried hard over the gainline from a pass by Bourdon-Sensus before quick hands by Nassira Konde and Bourgeois enabled Marine Menagier to score her 15th Test try wide out. Bourgeois again nailing the conversion.
But Ireland struck back; rewarded after twice kicking for the corner. Jones’s throw hit King and, setting up a dummy maul, Dorothy Wall deftly transferred to the charging Wafer to break tackles from Sochat and Tean Feleuabsorb another ansrbing another from Yllana Brosseau for a superb finish. O’Brien missed a difficult conversion.
Ireland then put in a huge defensive shift. Brittany Hogan and Jones setting the tone by holding up Agathe Sochat in the tackle for a turnover before Wafer and Emily Lane did the same to Fall, while Flood made a try-saving tackle on Carla Arb and Dalton ripped the ball for a vital turnover.
It was almost a nod of recognition that France then opted for a three-pointer from Bourgeois after their barrage and imbued with belief on the back of that, Ireland finished the half on top, albeit another attack ended in them being driven back, losing their shape and being turned over.
Even so, they began the second period full of belief and were helped on their way by Dalton winning another turnover before another big burst by Wafer. Higgins was then caught by Vernier’s head-on-head hit, which referee Hollie Davidson deemed met the yellow card threshold but which was subsequently upgraded to a 20-mintue red card.
A throw from Jones hit Wafer and again the backs joined in a perfectly set-up and long maul for the hooker to take the responsibility of regathering the ball and scoring. O’Brien failing to take the extras.
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand made a quadruple substitution to inject further intensity into his side’s performance, and the lineout and maul earned another try when it was driven over the line like an express train, Wafer again dotting down for the hosts to take her second try of the day in the 66th minute.
As the left-footed O’Brien lined up the conversion from about a dozen metres to the right, Ireland had all the momentum and seemed set to draw level, but the outhalf missed for a third time.
Although reduced, there were enough errors and penalties to let France off the hook. Les Bleus showed they had the broader attack and better threat on the edges when the ball was worked to Bourgeois, who made a switch with Menager.
Flood and Dalton completed a good double tackle, but from the recycle Emilie Boulard steamed on to the ball to exploit a gap between Cliodhna Moloney and Fione Tuite to score before Bourgeois landed her fifth kick from five to push them 12 points clear.
In the second game of the day, Scotland took a 24-21 win over Wales in Edinburgh.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 7 mins: Vernier try, Bourgeois con 0-7; 18: Menager try, Bourgeois con 0-14; 22: Wafer try 5-14; 33: Bourgeois pen 5-17; Half-time 5-17; 45: Jones try 10-17; 67: Wafer try 15-17; 72: Bourgeois pen 15-20; 74: Boulard try, Bourgeois con 15-27
IRELAND: S Flood; A McGann, A Dalton, E Higgins, A Costigan (capt); Dh O’Brien, E Lane; N O’Dowd, N Jones, L Djougang; R Campbell, D Wall; B Hogan, E King, A Wafer.
Replacements: E Breen for Higgins (45-52 mins), C Moloney for Jones, F Tuite for Wall, E McMahon for Hogan, A Reilly for Lane (all 55), G Moore for Campbell (68), S McCarthy for O’Dowd, C Haney for Djougang (both 78).
FRANCE: M Bourgeois; M Llorems Vignères, N Konde, G Vernier, M Menager (co-capt); C Arbez, P Bourdon-Sansus; Y Brosseau, A Sochat, R Bernadou; M Feleu (co-capt), M Fall-Raclot; C Escudero, S Okemba, T Feleu.
Red card: Vernier (44 mins).
Replacements: E Boulard for Konde (34 mins), A Chambon for Bourdon-Sensus (51-61 and 70-80), M Bigot for Sochat, A Mwayembe for Brosseau, C Joyeux for Bernadou (all 55), A Berthoumieu for Vernier, L Champon for Okemba (both 66), L Queyroi for Artez (70).
Referee: H Davidson (Scotland).
