The opening game of the Six Nations was touted as the World Cup final that never happened. A battle between two truly world-class teams from the northern hemisphere. One suspect believes that if the incident had actually happened in Paris on the night of October 28, Ireland would not have had an easier time.
Andy Farrell’s side kicked off their Six Nations campaign at the Stade Velodrome, kicking off life post-Johnny Sexton in perfect fashion with their biggest-ever win in France, 38-17. .
But if the question is which of the two teams has shaken off their World Cup hangover more effectively, France suggested they were still wearing their beer goggles. This was a miserable performance from Fabien Galthie’s men. It didn’t help that Paul Willemse received a red card for two high tackles in the first half, but even before that Ireland were the much better team. Even captain and talismanic Antoine Dupont, who played for Sevens in his off-seasons, may not have been able to inspire them.
With a raucous crowd inside the Stade Velodrome and the match being played on a Friday night, Ireland could only rely on perhaps a quarter of the 40,000 to 50,000-strong “zombie army” that gathered over the World Cup weekend. The omens were not particularly good, as he was unable to do so. Farrell’s subordinate.
Heading into this match, Ireland had only won in France three times in 52 years. Oddly enough, all three of those wins were won by exactly two points, with the last one requiring a miracle from Johnny Sexton. His famous 83rd minute drop goal from 45 meters in Paris helped Ireland win the Grand Slam in 2018.
It was also the opening game of that year’s tournament. Perhaps a grand slam on Farrell’s side will be etched in the stars this year?
Ireland certainly looked inspired in the first half, with the men in green summoning a massive performance across the park. Joe McCarthy was a dominant force on his Six Nations debut. Tadhg Beirne was very effective on both sides of the ball. Caelan Doris repeatedly defeated the blue division. Behind the scrum, Jamison Gibson-Park will be an ever-present threat, Bandy Aki maintains his World Cup form, while Jack Crowley charges an early chip with French captain Gregory Aldritt After a nervous start, the match grew.
In fact, the host started off quite well. After that charge down, a poor clearance by James Lowe gave France space to attack and Mathieu Jalibert started to wander, but if Gael Ficou had released him just a little early If he hadn’t, it might have been a try for Damien Penault.
However, the Irish soon found themselves in a bind and established a base camp at French position 22. Crowley gave Ireland a 3-0 lead after the home side were ruled offside for a second time on their own five-metre line.
Eight minutes later, Willemse was sent to the bunker for hitting Andrew Porter with his shoulder in the face. It could have easily been red, but TMO considered it and decided that only yellow was warranted.