FRANCE 13 IRELAND 15

SIX NATIONS

THIS was the stuff of legend. An ugly duckling of a spectacle with the most beautiful conclusion imaginable.

It had appeared to have all gone wrong for Ireland, an agonising outcome that would have been a rain-sodden repeat of their traumatic loss here two years ago.

Back then, a 9-3 interval lead became a painful 9-10 defeat. On this occasion, the exact same half-time advantage was also squandered.

Teddy Thomas’ late converted try, following a quickly-taken lineout and canter from distance had nudged France in front by a point and left Joe Schmidt on the cusp of suffering the same brutal, slender-margin setback.

Then came the French penalty miss and the incredible end-game that will live long in the memory.

Munster have their feted 41-phase move which led to Ronan O’Gara kicking an added-time drop goal winner in Limerick against Northampton some years ago.

Now, Johnny Sexton has his epic denouement to savour, the out-half banging over a monstrous drop goal from near the halfway line in the third added minute to snatch a memorable win from the jaws of defeat.

Ireland’s composure with the clock against them was poetry in motion, Yeats and Kavanagh all rolled into one. Despite having dominated territory throughout this dour match, they were at the wrong end of the pitch when they were handed their last-ditch chance to pull off a rescue.

Two years ago, Schmidt had bemoaned how his team had panicked when the result was up for grabs. 24 months on, though, his charges fantastically demonstrated they had learned from that mishap.

They were exemplarily patient manoeuvring the ball once Iain Henderson had first gathered it, literally inching their way forward tooth and nail before Sexton, the general in charge of moving them up the battlefield into position, first exhibited his class with the gutsy cross-kick that Keith Earls rose splendidly to collect.

That got Ireland into opposition territory, but there was plenty more arduous work to be done before the resultaffirming score would eventually come to pass.

Upwards continued the number of the phases until it reached its extraordinarily high figure, Henderson aptly making the final big surge that got Ireland over the 10metre line and set the stage for Conor Murray to fling his pass in Sexton’s direction.

The rest is history, the match-winning score delivered by the player who had taken a knock some moments earlier and whose replacement Joey Carbery was poised to enter the fray.

Ireland’s euphoria was deserved. Any win in Paris is a joyous event, so rarely do they occur.

However, there was no way it should have come down to Sexton’s Hail Mary effort from so far out.

Up against a French team that hadn’t won a match since last March, an Irish outfit that was chasing an eighth successive victory should have been well out of sight by then. They were so dominant in numerous usually key aspects of play. Their forwards, everyone from the raw James Ryan to the evergreen Rory Best, refusing to be bullied at an intimidating French ground that contains a library’s worth of stories about Irish packs enduring torrid times. In refusing to bend, they diligently built their 12-6 lead amid the greasy conditions where their level of handling was above the standard expected in the wet. It was Sexton — naturally — who was to the fore, kicking over four penalties. But despite this level of control, there was never a sign of a try materialising to endorse this solid foundation. While Ireland going on to clinch the 2015 title following a try-less win over the French in Dublin is a good omen, the general bluntness in carving out opportunities must be a worry given how the Irish are billed as the main threat to England’s attempt to win a third title in succession.

France tackled frenetically, with numerous forwards clocking up high individual tallies, but this inability to fracture the resistance nearly left Ireland paying a heavy price when the contest eventually zipped through the gears coming down the finishing straight.

Sexton had blinked when the opportunity arose to finally give Ireland’s display the cushion it was so desperately seeking in a low-frills, low wattage game, the kicker shanking a 63rd-minute effort to the left.

That left the door open for France to grab a lifeline and they grasped it in dramatic fashion.

Rob Kearney had managed to get a clearance kick away to touch just inside the French half, but Ireland were suddenly caught napping as the lineout was quickly taken and it left Thomas swerving his way past far too many flailing defenders who will fear the Monday morning video review of the score at Carton House.

Ireland give up too many tries to runners from far out, but at least this one wasn’t a killer and they now look forward to Italy next Saturday in Dublin with everything still to play for.