Ireland vs. France: Score and Reaction from 2017 Six Nations Round 3
Ireland clung on to beat France during Saturday's 2017 Six Nations action, winning their Round 3 match 19-9.
Conor Murray scored the only try of the match, while the returning Johnny Sexton was excellent from the tee. Camille Lopez scored all of France's points.
With the win, Ireland remain England's main competitors for the Six Nations title. Unbeaten England face Italy in Rome on Sunday.
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France started the match on the front foot, with Lopez showing his excellent range with some booming kicks. Not to be outdone, Sexton also showed his range, giving the Irish solid field position.
The French maul did some damage until it was halted by a penalty, but Les Bleus kept pushing as soon as they gathered the ball. The visitors won a lineout, and a smart offload forced a first penalty in a dangerous area, with Lopez taking the three points well.
Straight from the restart, a knock-on gave the advantage back to Les Bleus, but Scott Spedding opted to clear with a kick.
Another kick led to a scrum deep in the Irish half, and after some lovely work, Gael Fickou seemed to have played in Remi Lamerat for the first try of the match.
As shared by Rugby World, TMO decided otherwise, however, and instead, Lopez kicked another penalty:
An Irish maul caused some panic in the French defence, with Tadhg Furlong showing an incredible burst. Sexton was nearly reached before a turnover allowed Spedding to clear once again, wasting the opportunity.
The hosts kept working, but the scrum was collapsed, again relieving the pressure on Les Bleus. Furlong led yet another attack, dragging two defenders toward the 22, before Sexton gave his team solid position with his boot.
Points seemed inevitable, and a powerful scrum eventually saw Jamie Heaslip create a little space for Murray, who dove over the line to give Ireland a chance at the lead.
Even Aldi Ireland were impressed:
Sexton added the conversion for a 7-6 Ireland lead.
France made a great start from the kick but were quickly penalised, as Lopez went off his feet. On the other side of the pitch, Murray threw a wayward pass out of bounds before Sexton kicked to touch. France were given a late warning for discipline, but there would be no more points scored in the half.
It took just six minutes of the second half for Sexton to add to the lead with his boot, following a penalty given away by Baptiste Serin, who held back an opponent.
And the hosts' momentum didn't stop there. A silly pass forward gave possession back to Ireland, and with the penalty advantage, Sexton took a chance and nailed a drop goal, making the score 13-6.
Spedding made another mistake on a high clearance, and after France failed to bind the scrum, Sexton had yet another look at the posts, this time to push the lead to multiple scores. The Irish star did just that, as France started to fall apart.
A booming kick from Murray forced France into a lineout inside their own half, and Spedding made another error. Simon Zebo put in a remarkable shift to lead Ireland deep into the French half, but for once, Les Bleus stood their ground without giving up a penalty.
Some French possession entering the final quarter finally gave Les Bleus the chance to catch their breath, and a good run from Fickou saw the ball advanced to a dangerous area. Uini Atonio was called for a dangerous tackle, however, wasting yet another opportunity.
Maxime Machenaud and Eddy Ben Arous led another French attack, and Devin Toner made a needless mistake that gave Lopez the chance to kick a penalty that reduced the gap to less than a converted try.
But Paddy Jackson restored the advantage shortly after with just minutes left to play, and the Irish defended the lead from then onwards.
Per Murray Kinsella of The42.ie, Ireland coach Joe Schmidt praised his players after the win:
Ireland's next outing will be on the road against Wales, while France visit lowly Italy.
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