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There were no miracles in Paris, but France was almost more impressive, winning by less than the 31-point margin that the title would have brought them. They were happy to let that gong head to England, because winning with authority against a more experienced team with a much more realistic directive seemed to have a higher priority for them than chasing an improbable dream.
France claimed victory for the bonus points they needed, but the eight-point margin of victory was well below that required. Still, the consistency of brilliance of his young middlemen, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, in particular, is starting to impress. Combine that with a determined defense, now led by Shaun Edwards, the master of it, and France looks serious.
More than anything, Paris hosted a fascinating experiment in psychology. A young French team, atop the recent applause for their brilliant attacking play, needed to win by an unlikely margin – would they chase the game from the start? Meanwhile, Ireland, with much more experience in key decision-making roles, at least needed to win by six points.
The intrigue increased even more in the first 10 minutes. Conor Murray had a hopeful swing on a penalty from 57 yards. It had the distance but it was wide. Three minutes later, it was France who recorded the first points of the game, and in a typically brilliant way. Anthony Bouthier sent Gaël Fickou into a run down the left, the winger skinning Ireland’s header, and spun the ball inward for Dupont to lunge towards the line.
With an early attempt, would France retain the maturity not to dream of that 31-point victory yet? Sure enough, the game turned sharply in Ireland’s favor. Bouthier was booked for hitting the ball in the corner, under pressure from Hugo Keenan.
France handled the famous Irish-driven lineout with authority, but the Irish came back. After a series of short-range drives, Cian Healy emulated Ben Youngs earlier in the day by scoring in his 100th game, his try from a much closer range.
Ireland’s relentless phase play was France’s biggest headache – that and the hosts’ tendency to infringe. Johnny Sexton’s penalty put Ireland ahead, but France remained cool and bright. The variety of his handling and angles was on another level, Dupont throwing himself menacingly in and around a group of energetic forwards, each of whom seemed equally comfortable on the ball.
Jacob Stockdale struggled to get to a pair of balls, the second after a landslide French combination, which carried the ball left and then right. François Cros cut Stockdale’s fumble down the line, prompting Caelen Doris to tackle it off the ball – yellow card and penalty shot. France in front.
They couldn’t capitalize. Sexton and Ntamack exchanged penalties, but when Doris came back and Ireland went to the corner with the red clock, France’s defense was truly impressive. Ireland had to settle for a 17-13 deficit at halftime.
France scored 11 points in the same number of minutes at the start of the second half, and it was those young midfielders at the center of it again. Bouthier chilled under a high ball and passed it to Ntamack, who fed Fickou. Dupont was on the chip with the latter ahead. His inside ball was picked up by Ntamack, who scored for France’s third. Ntamack missed the conversion, but in six minutes he hit two penalties to stretch France’s lead to 15. Which meant that three more unanswered scores in the remaining half hour would give them that title.
They did not seem distracted. His dominance remained cool and contained, but it was Ireland who responded. Suddenly, the set of pieces looked wobbly, when out of nowhere Robbie Henshaw showed the way. The Ireland center picked up a fumble and beat five or six defenders in a brilliant run down the left. Only then, on time, did it feel as if the title was not going to be won in Paris.
Sure enough, all the urgency leaked from the party. Ireland, in particular, was not encouraged. His set piece continued to malfunction. When the last scrum gave France the advantage of penalties, they ran the ball anyway. Ntamack’s chip and pickup was sublime, and he sent Virimi Vakatawa home for the bonus point. Stockdale’s late score was a sad response.
There is no championship for these young Frenchmen, then, but they will settle for the promise of a future that looks like it could be loaded with such gongs.
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