SUPER Saturday might have lacked a certain frisson in Llanelli and Rome earlier in the day but with everything on the line in Paris last night, there was no denying the drama and tension.
France poured on the style to beat Ireland, a victory which ensure England took the Six Nations Championship.
Both sides knew exactly what they had to do as they lined up for the anthems and this concluding game made a lively start full of action and controversy.
France needed to win by 30-plus points – and score a try bonus – and from the outset you sensed that they had dismissed that possibility and concentrated on another morale-boosting win.
Ireland, in effect, needed ‘only' to win by six points to go ahead of England in that department. But after a useful start they never really threatened to pull that off although a late try by Jacob Stockdale gave the scoreline a more respectable gloss.
France were thoroughly deserving winners and will rue their away defeat in Edinburgh which prevented any thoughts of a Grand Slam this year.
Man of the moment Antoine Dupont crossed for a cracking try in the sixth minute which owed everything to the brilliance of Gael Fickou, operating on the left wing this week as opposed to centre.
Fickou, some 60 yards from the Ireland try line, trapped a loose ball with good footwork, made light work of prop Andrew Porter and then hit the turbos to outsprint the covering Conor Murray as he raced down the touchline before releasing his scrum-half with a timely inside pass.
Ireland responded strongly. Hugo Keen looked threatening chasing a clever Johnny Sexton chip which Anthony Bouthier illegally slapped into touch and received a yellow card for his troubles. Ireland pleaded for a penalty try but a score was by no means certain so the French escaped on that occasion. They weren't so lucky on 18 minutes though when Ireland laid siege to the French line and Cian Healy – another player making his 100th Test appearance yesterday – finished off a period of concerted pressure by barrelling over for a nerve settling score
CLOSE-UP
ANTOINE DUPONT France scrum-half v CONNOR MURRAY Ireland scrum-half
Fascinating contest with two of the world's best going head to head. Dupont tracked brilliantly for his try and was involved in most of France's best moments including a superb pass to put Ntmack to make his try although he needs to work on his box kicks. Murray performed well enough but Dupont is the player of the tournament.
A Sexton penalty from close range put Irish noses ahead but then we did have a bone fide penalty try on the half hour. Typically slick hands from France saw them attacking down the right but that seemed to be petering out when Stockdale made a mess of the kick through.
Flanker Francois Cros was in hot pursuit and would unquestionably have scored had he not been illegally taking out by Caelen Doris. This time Wayne Barnes didn' t need to consult with the TMO, it was a seven pointer although it did cost France dear with Cros, who jarred his ankle in the incident, limping of a few minutes later.
The tension was affecting both sides with neither wanting to cede any more ground although there was a further exchange of penalties before the break. 17-13 and time to take stock.
Barely five minutes into the scond half and France struck a gain in glorious fashion with Dupont again heavily involved. Ntmack attacked from broken ball from a long way out and sent Fickou sprinting hard again.
T his time Fickou kicked ahead and the ever-present Dupont appeared from nowhere to seiz e the bouncing ball and throw a pass inside where he knew, instinctively, Ntamack would be following. France are beginning to produce more and more of these champagne moments.
TEAMS
FRANCE: Bouthier 7 (Ramos 73); Rattez 7; Vakatawa 7, Vincent 7, Fickou 8; Ntamack 9, Dupont 9.5 (Serin 76, 7); Baille 7.5 (Gros 56, 6), Marchand 8 (Chat 56, 7) , Haouas 7 (Bamba 56, 6), Le Roux 7.5, Willemse 7 (Taofifenua 73, 6) Cros 7 (Cretin 33, 7) Olivon (c) 8, Alldritt 8
REFEREE: Wayne Barnes (Eng)
Star man Antoine Dupont – France
Ntamack couldn't add the conversion but F rance seemed in business-like mode and Ntamack soon stroked over another brace of penalties to extend the lead further and make Ireland's task even more difficult.
Robbie Henshaw wasn't giving up though and just before the hour he seized on bungled lineout possession to set off on a power-packed run on a wide arc to beat four or five defenders to score in the corner which Sexton converted.
Suddenly they were trailing by just eight and the ‘dream' win was back on and France were looking jittery until Ntmack produced another moment of brilliance. This time he chipped and chased to put the thankful Virimi Vakatawa in for a glorious try. The game was France's, the title England's.
