Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

10:00 AM-01:00 PM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement

Sport

REACTION | Ireland lose to France to all but finish Six Nations hopes

After a heartbreaking loss to Wales a week ago, Ireland looked to get their Guinness Six Nations ...



After a heartbreaking loss to Wales a week ago, Ireland looked to get their Guinness Six Nations campaign back on track when they hosted France on Sunday.

Playing with just 14 men for most of the match against Wales, Ireland came within five points of their hosts, after putting up a fairly good performance.

Ireland-France

Andy Farrell was forced into a number of changes, with Peter O'Mahony receiving a three-match ban for his red card against Wales, while Jonathan Sexton and James Ryan were ruled out with concussion symptoms. Conor Murray was also ruled out due to a hamstring strain.

France, on the other hand, came into the match off the back of a 50-10 victory over Italy, with only two changes to their high-flying side a week earlier.

The visitors were awarded the first point-scoring opportunity within the first 10 minutes of the match, however Matthieu Jalibert was unable to capitalise on the penalty from the lineout.

Jalibert was not the only one to miss with his first attempt, though, as Billy Burns missed a penalty of his own in the almost 10 minutes later, leaving the score level halfway through the first half.

Burns did not let that early miss affect him, however, as his kicking from hand got Ireland into good field position, and allowed him a second shot at goal on the stroke of 20 minutes gone. Ireland took the three-point lead heading into the second quarter.

France

The visitors' Six Nations worries were compounded by a yellow card for Bernard le Roux, who was penalised for a trip against Keith Earls, who was chasing one of Jamison Gibson-Park's up-and-unders.

Ireland wasted no time in exploiting the extra man, spreading the ball wide from the lineout immediately, however James Lowe was denied a try in the corner by the Television Match Official (TMO).

With the game on a knife-edge heading into the final 10 minutes of the match, Jalibert failed to take France out to a more comfortable lead as his penalty kick struck the posts.

With shades of the situation from last week, Ireland received a penalty in the final minute of the match, which Byrne put just inside the French half.

The French defence held strong, ultimately forcing a turnover with time up on the clock, earning their first win in Dublin in 10 years.

Reaction

 

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

France Ireland Rugby Six Nations