By losing (32-19) on the ground of very effective Irish, the Blues say goodbye to a second consecutive Grand Slam, from the second day of the Six Nations Tournament, Saturday
End of series for the Blues. The XV of France was dominated by Ireland (32-19) on behalf of the second day of the Six Nations Tournament, Saturday February 11, on the lawn of the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Fabien Galthié’s men, overtaken by a formidable Irish team, remained in contact for a long time, but they lacked success to hope for better. The XV du Clover, world number 1 team, marks its territory against its runner-up in the world rankings six months before the World Cup in France.
Faced with this Irish team, in the cauldron of the Aviva Stadium, the XV of France failed to rise to the extent of the challenge. As the skies over Dublin darkened, the Irish storm overwhelmed them. They struggled to contain the waves of attacks from the Greens, who scored the first try in the eleventh minute on a fine offensive concluded by Hugo Keenan. Overwhelmed by the fast and efficient game of XV du Clover, they were overwhelmed by a team that forgives no mistakes, or almost.
Overwhelmed in all areas
Guilty of lapses in concentration, they sometimes let their opponents return after their rare highlights, as evidenced by the second try of the XV of Clover scored by James Lowe just after the formidable achievement of Damian Penaud. They were also feverish in the face of opposing pressure and in the rucks (twice as many rucks won).
Much less glaring than a week ago in Italy (only seven penalties conceded), the indiscipline also cost the French, since it was after the yellow card conceded by Uini Atonio for a dangerous tackle (26th) that the Greens took off, thanks to a third try conceded at 14 against 15. Enough to make the finishers react on the bench, who did not hide their disappointment when they saw the tricolor pillar come out.
Resistant to the end
Dominated, the French however fought until the end, pushed by the noisy French colony which was heard throughout the match from the stands. At the very start of the meeting, Damian Penaud had quickly responded to the first Irish try on a magnificent almost solitary breakthrough which had disgusted the Irish supporters in the bays of the Aviva Stadium (18th). Long kept short of a transformed try, they gave the impression that they could resist and even come back. Superior in the game, the Clover XV trembled until the last minutes, despite Garry Ringrose’s last try in the last ten minutes, like the expansive celebrations tinged with the smell of hops at the final whistle.
With this defeat, the first since July 2021 in Australia, the French team lets slip its record series of 14 straight wins. Antoine Dupont and his teammates also abandoned their dreams of a double Grand Slam on the wet lawn of the Aviva (since the tournament brought together six nations). Provisionally third, they could be overtaken by the winner of the match between England and Italy on Sunday, before receiving Scotland in two weeks, back at the Stade de France.
