A first win of the 2016 RBS 6 Nations slipped out of Ireland’s grasp during the final quarter in rain-soaked Paris as Maxime Medard’s 69th-minute try inspired a 10-9 comeback victory for France.
Ireland were gunning for their fourth straight success against France – a feat last achieved by an Irish side in 1927 – and they were on course for such a result when Jonathan Sexton’s three penalties gave them a 9-3 half-time lead.
Sexton split the posts after 14, 28 and 38 minutes in wet and testing conditions at the Stade de France, with the visitors having 50% possession and 58% territory before the break.
They hit the ground running with a tremendous high catch by Robbie Henshaw and a lineout move that saw the returning Sean O’Brien tackled short of the French line. A scrum penalty and then Sexton’s sweetly-struck 38-metre opener deservedly got Ireland off the mark – 3-0.
Henshaw continued to gain ground in heavy midfield traffic, spinning and scrapping for every yard, and he was to the fore in the build-up to Sexton’s second successful penalty approaching the half hour mark. The out-half added a third from long distance, rewarding a seemingly solid Irish scrum.
Jules Plisson converted one of his two first half penalty efforts in response, while he also wobbled a drop goal attempt wide. Ireland were in control for the most part, but their failure to build a bigger advantage from repeated visits to the 22 came back to haunt them. There was a general lack of cutting edge in their play.
Injuries to O’Brien, Dave Kearney and Mike McCarthy also caused disruption and despite Ireland keeping les Bleus in their own half for much of the third quarter, they had no points to show for the territory and some threatening kicks from Sexton and Conor Murray.
With defences on top and a growing amount of handling errors and scrums, the margins became narrower and narrower in what was a very poor spectacle overall as neither try-line was truly tested until the closing quarter.
Henshaw’s centre partner Jared Payne, in particular, showed his defensive strengths once again, landing 16 tackles despite ‘playing with a dead leg for 30 minutes’, according to Joe Schmidt.
Tellingly, France managed to turn the screw in the scrum courtesy of a front row beefed up by replacement props Eddy Ben Arous and Rabah Slimani. This came after one of their best spells with ball in hand while lock McCarthy was down following a clash of heads with Jack McGrath.
Although Ireland kept out an initial maul near the left corner and held up Damien Chouly under the posts – CJ Stander, Jamie Heaslip and Rob Kearney earned the plaudits – a succession of scrum penalties five metres out increased the pressure.
The Irish pack managed to keep the scrum steady at the very next set piece after captain Rory Best was warned by referee Jaco Peyper, however full-back Medard succeeded in cutting inside Henshaw and evading Tommy O’Donnell’s grasp to touch down from close range.
The simple conversion was added by Plisson for 10-9 and his newly-introduced half-back partner Maxime Machenaud, who supplied the well-timed try-scoring pass, had just as much influence as the reserve props as he kept France playing in the right areas of the pitch.
Time was not on Ireland’s side and a mix-up between Murray and Ian Madigan, who also kicked out on the full, handed possession straight back to the home side.
Indeed, the scrum infringements kept coming and Ireland’s penalty count rose to 13, along with a tally of 17 missed tackles, before Machenaud’s boot brought this error-strewn encounter to a close.
Giving his assessment of the round 2 defeat afterwards, Ireland head coach Schmidt said: “France scored with 15 to go, so we spent about a ten-minute period in our own 22 and that took its toll in the end.
“Obviously it’s a massive disappointment; we had some opportunities in the first half and we didn’t take them. We’re probably disappointed that there wasn’t some action take for some of the things that happened off the ball (Yoann Maestri’s late hit on Sexton and Guilhem Guirado’s high tackle on Dave Kearney) and we’ll review those.
“The frustrating thing is we had our opportunities…we did tire a bit and there was always a risk. I felt that we needed to get a lead on them. We got a small lead, but it never went beyond a score and they got that score. After a one-point loss and you have opportunities you didn’t take, it’s always disappointing.
“Conditions were atrocious and it was very slippery. It was harder to carry the ball in the first half than it was to defend because of that persistent rain. It was better in the second, but we didn’t have as much of the ball.”
Commenting on the injuries, he added: “We lost Dave Kearney in the first half and I think he’s got an AC (shoulder) injury, which will probably keep him out for some time. With Sean (O’Brien), it looks like a hamstring injury.
“We feared it was a knee injury, the way he planted and turned. But it looks like an upper hamstring. It’s always a loss when you lose Sean because of his high work-rate and power. We’re just going to have to assess him over the next 24 or 48 hours.
“Johnny (Sexton), he was pretty knocked around at the end of the game. Mike McCarthy certainly appeared to suffer a concussion but I’ve not had chance to speak to the medical team yet.
“Jared Payne played on with a dead leg for about 30 minutes. I thought he was outstanding given that context. I’m hoping everybody else will be okay for two weeks’ time (against England).”
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