Absence of O'Driscoll, Stringer keenly felt

Analysis:Considering it was a day of political, historical and cultural importance, there was always a chance that this quality French team would spoil the unifying effect of rugby coming to Croke Park.

The loss of Ireland's greatest ever player, and the immense psychological barrier presented by such an occasion, simply could not be overcome.

A well known mantra of sports psychology is that a player doesn't lose his skills in such an environment; rather it is his focus that goes walkabout. The multitude of unforced errors, particularly in the opening 50 minutes, was down to Ireland being overawed by the occasion.

Still, the fact they were at no point out of this game is a testament to their courage. They are still a world-class side. The loss of Brian O'Driscoll and Peter Stringer was compounded by a quality French display that would have seen a normal team beaten out the gate by half-time.

It takes enormous character to soak up yesterday's mountain of pressure and still be inches from victory at the finish. It was a gritty performance against superior individual players.

Bernard Laporte won the tactical battle over Eddie O'Sullivan.

The French have clearly learned a lot from the pounding they took off the All Blacks in November.

The key evolvement is the change of their defensive pattern, which is now similar to New Zealand's.

They no longer drift, instead adopting a zonal, man-to-man style with players responsible for their own corridor.

They sprint up in a line with the intention of smashing the first target runner.

Shane Horgan was their major target for special attention, followed closely by Isaac Boss.

I wouldn't be overly critical of Boss as he will forever be compared to the best passer in world rugby, but the French back row left no gaps for the Ulster scrumhalf to probe around the fringes. He was forced to pass every time - thus heaping the focus onto Ronan O'Gara and Shane Horgan.

A similar ploy would have been adopted if Stringer was in situ, only O'Gara would have had that extra split second to make something happen.

The French backrow were the most influential unit on the pitch, especially when Sebastien Chabal was out there. One incident in particular stands out. Imanol Harinordoquy made a break in the first half only to lose his footing; Chabal was on hand to hold him up and literally carry his team-mate 15 metres before they were halted close to the Irish line. It was a miracle they were denied a try.

The work rate of David Wallace deserves a mention but in comparison to the French, Ireland still lack balance at backrow (I'm not going to apologise for repeating this on a weekly basis because the Irish combination remains off kilter without an out-and-out groundhog at openside).

Some gaps eventually appeared, but France mirrored New Zealand's discipline to grind out victory here. Their scrum and lineout were also spot on for the opening hour.

All this combined to silence Croke Park for long periods. A crowd struggle to become vocal when their team doesn't have the ball. This was the key to a French victory; they diluted the occasion.

The only problem with the French performance was a failure to be further clear by half-time.

It was a hard slog but eventually Ireland forced the French into making mistakes. The Pascal Pape knock-on in the Irish 22, when a clear overlap existed, was a prime example, as was a poor pass by Harinordoquy that would have sent Vincent Clerc clear.

The pressure also got to referee Steve Walsh. Harinordoquy pulling back Marcus Horan wasn't the worst decision; it merely showed a consistency in refereeing over the past week. See Simon Easterby's interference with the Welsh winger Chris Czekaj last week in Cardiff. Both were tough calls.

Where Walsh did fall down was blowing up the Pape knock-on too quickly, as a breakaway try for Geordan Murphy appeared certain if some advantage had been allowed.

Considering the magnitude of the occasion it would be hard to be overly critical of anyone - including the referee. It was a knock-on so he called it.

If Ireland had denied that agonising late try by Clerc, the 74th-minute maul that led to O'Gara's penalty would have gone down as one of the great moments in Irish sport.

The Irish forwards - every one of them exhausted - had no right to drive this French pack 20 yards downfield.

If ever Irish rugby is to show its GAA brothers the physicality of the game and how much courage is required to play at international level, then that maul was the moment.

They got the deserved reward, O'Gara's penalty making it a four-point game.

In the face of defeat, Ireland looked to have ground out a victory.

A true mark of a great team (of Grand Slam winners), we would have been saying this morning.

But at this point two mindsets occurred. Ireland began thinking about a historic victory, while France remained focused on the process.

The next phase. Retention of possession.

Did Ireland deserve to win? Probably not but they certainly didn't deserve to lose like that. Rugby can be a magnificent game but is also very cruel at times.

A long two weeks are to follow.