“Only captain Caelan Doris held his own.”
In the aftermath of France’s dominant 42-27 Six Nations win over Ireland on Saturday, there were a few recurring talking points in the French media.
The main topic of discussion was the devastating cruciate injury suffered by talisman Antoine Dupont, and whether or not it was a red card offence from Tadhg Beirne, who fell on the scrum-half’s leg.
L’Équipe quoted former referee Alexandre Ruiz, who was adamant of Beirne’s guilt:
“For me, it’s a red card. I never see him squeezing to come and clean it. I see a closed shoulder on a very vulnerable player, because he is in a position to scrape. Then, I see him finish the gesture on the lower part, there is clearly a twist. It is unfair play on a vulnerable player contesting a ball.”
However, the famed French sports publication had a fairer view of the incident further down.
They wrote: “This is the case on this action, but it is made all the more difficult to interpret as Andrew Porter arrives behind Beirne and perhaps unbalances him to the point of making him fall on Dupont.”
France’s Gregory Alldritt spoke of how the injury to Dupont spurred their team on in the second half, and these thoughts were echoed by Midi Olympique.
They said: “Seriously injured in the 29th minute, the captain of the Blues Antoine Dupont quickly understood the extent of the damage to his right knee. If the icon of French rugby will leave a huge void in the months to come, his injury forced his teammates to excel.”
Midi Olympique also had huge praise for head coach Fabian Galthié, whose leadership of this group had been coming under scrutiny for what many felt has been lack of success with such a talented squad.
They added: “On Saturday in Dublin, the Blues not only overturned Ireland on home soil, rightly considered the best team in the northern hemisphere until then. They offered themselves a near-perfect match, which, in addition to a promise of the title, will mark an undeniable turning point in Act II of the Galthié era.”
Speaking for Le Figaro, former French international Jerome Thion hailed France’s decision to opt for a 7-1 bench split.
He said: “It was an incredible match! Personally, I was very scared given the intensity that was put against the English. Of course, against Wales, the Irish had a pretty average match, but the fact of having a 7-1 bench also worried me against this Irish team. But I was proven wrong since all the finishers who came into play proved that they could play.”
While most of the content focused on praise for the French team’s performance, they also gave their opinions on the Irish, with L’Équipe handing out some predictably harsh ratings: “Up front, the pack suffered in the collisions and the stupid mistake of Joe McCarthy (3) weakened his team.
“For his last outing at home, O’Mahony (4) always played on the limit, diving twice into French legs. But it was not enough to resist the power of the Blues.
“In the back line, Bundee Aki (3) disappointed, only Robbie Henshaw (5) and Hugo Keenan (6) shone, with the fullback reigning supreme in the air.”
Calvin Nash and Sam Prendergast were also gives 3s by the French publication.
Le Figaro singled out Caelan Doris as the one Irish forward who held his own against the dominant Les Bleus pack: “Only captain Caelan Doris held his own. Multiplying the assaults to gain 67 meters on the front line. Strong. Unfortunately for him, his teammates in the pack were much less efficient. The usual big carriers were stopped by the defensive aggressiveness of the Tricolores.
“In the fierce battle of the rucks, they did not have their usual performance either, the tricolor forwards making sure not to let them act at the limit of the rules with complete impunity. We also had the impression that after having fired from all cylinders during the first twenty minutes of the match, they no longer had the same energy, the gauge flirting with the red. The entry of five French forwards in the 49th minute also finished extinguishing them.”
