Six Nations 2023: 'Ireland eye Grand Slam after toppling France in showdown for the ages'

Major sporting events are often suffocated by the hype, but connected Saturday Ireland and France contested 80 minutes of heart-stopping Test rugby that surpassed each expectations and reaffirmed 1 squad arsenic the world's champion portion plunging the different into an unenviable play of soul-searching.

While Ireland bolstered their presumption arsenic 1 of rugby's bluish hemisphere superpowers with a Test bid triumph implicit the All Blacks successful New Zealand and autumn defeats of satellite champions South Africa and Australia, France conscionable kept connected winning.

In fact, Les Bleus rocked up to the Aviva Stadium connected Saturday connected the backmost of a 14-game winning run, with Ireland intent connected toppling the 1 broadside whose scalp had truthful acold eluded them during Andy Farrell's reign.

The world's apical 2 sides. A crackling atmosphere. A title blockbuster dripping with sub-plot and featuring immoderate of the champion players connected the planet.

It was each acceptable up to disappoint, wasn't it?

Well, it was, but Ireland and France had different ideas arsenic they swung for each different successful a archetypal fractional truthful breathless and frenetic that it sealed the match's spot successful 'Greatest Six Nations games' debates for years to come.

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Watching these 2 well-oiled machines clang into each different successful beforehand of 51,000 spellbound spectators was to formed one's caput backmost to the large Arsenal and Manchester United Premier League games of the Wenger and Ferguson eras. It was sporting theatre successful its purest form.

It whitethorn besides beryllium the zenith of a rivalry that has successful caller years fixed america 'Le Drop' and past year's noisy Stade de France thriller, but rugby fans each implicit volition beryllium hoping for different section successful Paris successful the World Cup aboriginal this year.

While conscionable the imaginable of a knockout lucifer successful rugby's quadrennial showpiece is capable to seizure the imagination, immoderate sequel to Saturday's contention volition person to conjure moments similar Damian Penaud's glorious counter-attacking score, oregon James Lowe's spectacular leap to the country for Ireland's 2nd try, to lucifer the original.

"The archetypal fractional was [incredible], wasn't it?," said Farrell, who has overseen 13 location victories successful a row.

"Wow, it was conscionable end-to-end stuff. We each hoped it would beryllium similar that, but it surely was."

While the value of the effect volition not beryllium mislaid connected Ireland, who present person Italy, Scotland and England lasting betwixt them and a 4th Grand Slam, the dependable of Johnny Sexton - who missed the 2021 and 2022 defeats by France - chopped done the post-match elation to punctual his team-mates of erstwhile mendacious dawns.

"It's not worthy thing if we fto it gaffe present successful presumption of against Italy successful the adjacent game," said Sexton, who besides paid tribute to half-back spouse Conor Murray, who managed 57 minutes astatine the extremity of a difficult week disconnected the field.

"That's what we talk about, keeping the trajectory similar this arsenic opposed to successful 2019 erstwhile we dipped [after winning the Grand Slam successful 2018].

"To get amended is to triumph the title oregon a Grand Slam. How you bash that is ore connected the adjacent 2 weeks and effort and bushed Italy distant which, if you saw their crippled past week [a 29-24 decision by France], you cognize however pugnacious a crippled it's going to be."

'Defeat is not truly a friend, but we volition person to walk the time with her'

France adjacent big Scotland successful Paris successful a fortnight's time

Ireland, however, whitethorn adhd to their increasing wounded database aft a bruising brushwood with the French. While Sexton downplayed the groin wounded helium sustained erstwhile Uini Atonio landed connected him, hooker Rob Herring was forced disconnected aft being clattered precocious by the brawny La Rochelle prop, resulting successful a yellowish paper for the Frenchman.

Tadhg Beirne, meanwhile, near the stadium successful a protective boot, with Farrell conceding that the lock's wounded is "not looking excessively great".

With Robbie Henshaw, Tadhg Furlong, Jamison Gibson-Park, Dan Sheehan and Cian Healy already sidelined, it is simply a concern, but Farrell tin beryllium heartened by the contributions his replacements made, from Ross Byrne kicking 5 points to Tom O'Toole's proficiency with shot successful hand.

With a archetypal fractional played astatine breakneck velocity thing had to springiness successful the 2nd half, but having absorbed waves of bluish unit aft Sexton's withdrawal, Garry Ringrose's bonus-point effort near France staring astatine a grim post-mortem earlier hosting a resurgent Scotland successful 2 weeks' time.

"It is astir 2 years since we person lost, it is hard to take," said France caput manager Fabien Galthie.

"The bid of wins are there, present it is indispensable to larn however to instrumentality a defeat. Defeat is not truly a friend, but we volition person to walk the time with her."

Whether oregon not France tin retrieve successful clip to salvage their rubric defence earlier hosting the World Cup remains to beryllium seen.

But having ridden the hype to slay the mighty French beast, Farrell's Ireland person issued their biggest connection yet successful their quest for rugby's biggest prizes.