It felt like a title decider beforehand and even more so afterwards. As statements of intent go, France brought the destiny of the 2025 Six Nations firmly under their control. A first title in four years, and just a second since 2010, looks as inevitable as it is overdue, with their final game at home to Scotland on Saturday.
Their 42-27 win over Ireland in front of a loud and joyous travelling support of 12-15,000 at the Aviva Stadium perfectly sets up France’s finale in the Stade de France. A bonus-point victory at home will guarantee them the title; even winning without a bonus point will be enough unless England beat Wales by a freakish margin earlier in the day.
Gregor Townsend may insist his Scottish team “can’t wait” for their daunting Championship finale, but he also acknowledged that it represents possibly the toughest fixture in world rugby right now.
The deflated Irish interim head coach Simon Easterby accepted that hopes of a historic three-peat have all but evaporated, dependent on both France and England suffering improbable last-day upsets as well as on Ireland winning in Italy. Saturday’s defeat also revived memories for Easterby of the final day in 2007, when the same set of fixtures culminated in France edging the title on points difference from Ireland with a maul try off the final play in their win over Scotland.
“It is out of our hands. That’s the kind of disappointing thing because we genuinely felt before the game−,” he began, his thoughts stopping short of stating that the Irish squad clearly felt they could win this game and the title.
“We started really well. We just didn’t quite convert enough of the opportunities and at half time we felt like we were in the ascendancy.
“We felt like we had kind of broken the back of them a little bit, even though the scoreline wasn’t in our favour. We go out in the second half, we score a great maul try ... we seemed to lose it down the back of a number of different things.
“It’s devastating that we’ve not been able to produce a better performance, not in all the game, just in dealing with chunks of the game which allowed them to get the momentum and get the result.”
Such has been the high bar set by this Irish team and it’s aspirations for this Six Nations campaign that the first defeat under his watch presents Easterby with a sizeable task, given it’s utterly deflating nature. But he tried to stay positive.
“Not losing a home game in four years, missing the opportunity to win a Grand Slam, but we still have got a chance. We still feel, genuinely, feel like there’s more in us. And this group, to a man, are unbelievable, they’re brilliant at just taking the positives, understanding why they didn’t quite click and get the most out of the game and [they] will work incredibly hard together to put in a performance next weekend.”
But what will have acutely hurt is the manner France pulled away. Not since the 2019 World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand has an Irish team wilted under such a barrage of points.
“It didn’t help that we were down to 14 men,” said Easterby in relation to France making the most Calvin Nash’s 47th-minute yellow card. “I think they kind of kicked on a little bit in that period when Calvin was off and I’ll go on record in saying I don’t, and still don’t, believe it was necessarily a yellow card. He was very passive in it and it was just one of the things.
“But we have to be better when we’re down to 14 men. Shit happens. You go down a man, you might go down two men, but we can’t let that be the reason why we concede those points. We need to make sure we’re better at that.
“I don’t think you ever go through your career without having a few lows and disappointments and I know that the players will bounce back. They’ll be disappointed with what’s gone on today but they will want to finish strong.”
This was hardly the last home Test that the team wanted to give the retiring Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy, and Easterby admitted: “They’ll be missed, of course, but every team has to keep moving forward and look for fresh blood and we’ve started to do that as well in the positions that those guys are in. It’s never nice losing guys who have given so much to the jersey and spent so much time in the environment, but unfortunately that’s part and parcel of life.”
Although there was no disputing the brilliance of the French team and their celebrating supporters, the post-match fallout left a slightly bad taste.
The French head coach Fabien Galthié petulantly blamed Nash for an accidental clash of heads with Pierre-Louis Barassi that led to the Irish winger being sinbinned. Galthié also accused Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter of a “reprehensible” action when their clearout on Antoine Dupont led to the 30th minute departure of the world’s best player.
But both referee Angus Gardner and Easterby deemed the episode a rugby incident and neither Nash, Beirne nor Porter will be cited. Sadly though, Dupont has since confirmed he suffered a torn cruciate ligament that will sideline him from next Saturday’s game and beyond.
“My heart hurts even more than my knee when I have to abandon my friends before the last step. I’m proud of what we achieved yesterday and with all my strength with you, you’re going to do it.”
Posting in French, he wrote the injury marks the start of a new challenge for him, but added he will be back on the field “in a few months”.
