France vs. Ireland: Winners and Losers from 2016 RBS 6 Nations Clash
France made it two wins out of two in the RBS Six Nations win a 10-9 win against Ireland at the Stade de France on Saturday. It was France's first victory against the Emerald Isle since 2011.
Ireland were dominant in the first half, but a six-point lead going into the break did not reflect their superiority. France were much improved in the second 40, and the introduction of better scrummaging props—Eddy Ben Arous and Rabah Slimani—was pivotal for the victory.
Here are the winners and losers from this France-Ireland clash; one player on the winning side, who was crucial against Italy last week, was both a winner and a loser.
Loser: Ireland’s and Sean O’Brien’s Injury Curse
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Sean O’Brien, the Ireland flanker was an unfortunate loser at the Stade de France, as his injury curse struck again. The back-rower missed the draw against Wales with a knock picked up in training and came off after 20 minutes in this game with what coach Joe Schmidt hopes is just a muscular problem. Schmidt remarked, as per The 42:
"It looks like a hamstring injury. We feared it might be a knee with the way he planted and turned, but it looks like an upper hamstring injury.
Losing Sean early in the match, he had trained really well early in the week and was highly motivated for this game. I do think he’s always a loss because of the high work rate and power he brings to our carry.
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Winger Dave Kearney suffered an AC blow, and No. 10 Jonny Sexton and lock Mike McCarthy also came off with knocks.
With Ian Henderson, Peter O'Mahony, Cian Healy, Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald all out for the long term, Ireland have an injury curse.
Winner: France’s Confidence
2 of 5France were distinctly mediocre against Italy but played better versus Ireland. Most importantly for Les Blues, a victory against the reigning champions, who also beat them at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, will do wonders for their confidence. France can now go to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales in two weeks on a high.
Loser: Ireland’s Six Nations Challenge
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Ireland, we can almost certainly say, will not retain their title for the third year in a row. This defeat against France leaves them without a win after two matches, and although injuries were an important factor, both in terms of the players they had missing from the start and those they lost during play, the relative lack of depth in Irish rugby is being demonstrated.
This will not be their year.
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Winner and Loser: Jules Plisson
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The French fly-half Jules Plisson was a winner last week against Italy with a late long-range penalty, but against Ireland the No. 10 had a mixed game.
The good: Plisson distributed nicely, drawing defenders, and on one occasion he delivered what would have been a try-scoring pass, were it not for a reaching pat back by the astute Andrew Trimble.
The bad: Plisson started the match inauspiciously. In the first minute he wasted possession with a kick that was easy for Ireland to deal with. Two minutes later, an attempted kick-pass to Teddy Thomas went behind the winger and cramped the French inside their own 22.
Plisson missed a relatively straightforward penalty at the end of the first half and rushed a drop-goal attempt while in front of the posts.
Loser: Conditions at the Stade De France
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Conditions at the Stade the France made for a sometimes turgid encounter. In the first half particularly, whenever one team seemed to be getting onto the front foot, the slippery ball got the better of them, with countless knock-ons the result.
As a result, the match was low-scoring and decided by the power of the set piece. The introduction of props Eddy Ben Arous and Rabah Slimani, who are less capable in the loose than Jefferson Poirot and Uini Atonio, made a crucial difference.
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