France outperform Ireland in important pool D clash
21-Sep-2007
France beat Ireland 25-3 at the Stade de France to remain on track for RWC 2007 quarterfinal qualification while Ireland move into a critical situation.
Ireland rarely looked like challenging the French in their pool D battle but Les Bleus were unable to demonstrate anything substantial early on in the match. The first half ended tryless but France had built up a 9 point lead through 4 penalty kicks against a single dropgoal by Ireland's Ronan O'Gara.
The Irish seemed to tire a little in last 25 minutes and France found their form as they began to find gaps in the Irish defence. Wing Vincent Clerc scored the first try as he received a beautiful kick by Frederic Michalak and sprinted on to touch down in the corner. Moments later Ireland's Paul O'Connel was sinbinned and France capitalised on their extra manpower with another kick-to-try by Vincent Clerc as he knocked off the defence and landed over the line.
Les Bleus also lost a man in the final minutes of the game as Damien Traille received a yellow card but it was too late for a disillusioned Irish side and France proceeded to win by 25-3.
Assuming that Argentina comfortably beat Namibia on Saturday, for Ireland to stay in RWC 2007 they would need to beat the Pumas next week by at least 8 points while scoring 4 or more tries in the process - a result which looks increasingly unlikely.
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