France Player Ratings v Ireland
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France Player Ratings v Ireland
Charles Ollivon lead from the front with his score putting France on course to win their first Six Nations match in Ireland since 2011 and claim back-to-back wins in this fixture for the first time since that triumph.
Here is how we rated the first victors.
15. Brice Dulin - 8.5
Beaten in the air early on but that was the only time that happened. Dulin seemed to cover the entire pitch in Dublin. He put in a nice grubber clearance in behind the Irish backline soon after being beaten in the air.
He kicked well and counter attacked in the manner while coming up with the try assist for Penaud with a nice offload.
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14. Damian Penaud - 6
In the right place at the right, as he normally is, to score what proved to be the decisive try.
Didn't see enough ball as he would have liked as was found wanting on defence on a few occasions.
13. Arthur Vincent - 6.5
His defensive reads were excellent as he and Fickou shut out numerous Irish attacks.
Didn't see too much of the ball as he shifted the ball on three times and carried to the line three further times.
Vakatawa can certainly break a game open but at the moment Vincent is shutting the opposition out. Another strong shift from the youngster.
12. Gael Fickou - 8
Ripped the ball brilliantly from the palms of CJ Stander in the 14th minute after a number of phases of Irish pressure.
Made numerous intelligent and key interventions with Ireland attacking dangerously while his hands were excellent on attack.
He assisted Ollivon's try nicely too.
11. Gabin Villiere - 7
Like Penaud, Villiere didn't see enough ball but the speedster made up for it. He worked tirelessly chasing kicks and was a real threat over the ball.
He completed three offloads and beat two defenders.
10. Matthieu Jalibert - 7
Jalibert showed that he has all the attributes of a class test rugby flyhalf but his execution wasn't quite on point in Dublin.
His three missed kicks made the game close than it maybe should have been and he was charged down with his very first kick to touch.
However, he defended admirably making all but one of his 13 attempted tackles as Ireland flooded his channel. He shifted the ball on nicely most times and beat a few defenders but his one pass out to Penaud at a key point in the second half could have sealed a more comfortable win.
9. Antoine Dupont - 8
He is not perfect but he isn't too far off. Even when Dupont does make an error, he is quick to make up for it.
He spent the game flying out of the defensive line to shut down numerous Ireland attacks which did lead to five missed tackles, which didn't have too much of an impact in the grand scheme of things as it forced a stutter in the phase.
He made some excellent kicks deep into the Ireland half but also overpowered one. Made an excellent fend on Tadgh Furlong and even came up with the turnover to seal the result for France.
1. Cyril Baille - 6
Two penalties went against him in the opening 10 minutes. The first for a side entry, the second for going to ground in the scrum. He was excellent around the pitch making over 20 metres with ball in hand and fronted up to make all of his tackles. His penalties do hurt his rating. Played deep into the game coming off just four minutes from time.
2. Julien Marchand - 7
The failures at the lineout don't rest entirely on his shoulders but he has to field a good portion of the blame with a few suspect throws. Outside of his set-pieces, Marchand was good on defence and a major threat with ball in hand. Had some great carries and completed two nice offloads.
3. Mohamed Haouas - 6
Like his fellow prop, Haouas was guilty of being penalised more than once. He put in a solid shift on defence and also carried well. Replaced before the hour mark.
4. Bernard Le Roux - 7
A silly trip saw him go to the bin for 10 in the first half but that was as bad as Le Roux's game got. He worked tirelessly on defence and was often lending a hand to drive an Irish attacker backwards.
He made a big hit in the final passage of play that allowed Dupont to get over the ball.
5. Paul Willemse - 7.5
A poor handling error gave up a promising attack for France in the latter stages of the first half. He copped a Dupont bullet to the face early in the second. Those two moments did not help France but Willemse was once again a titan on defence with over 15 tackles without missing.
6. Anthony Jelonch - 7
Not a name that often popped up from the commentary team but Jelonch quietly went about his work. He cleared out rucks superbly while his two carries resulted in 12 running metres. When France's lineout wasn't going to plan, it was him who came up to secure the set piece.
7. Charles Ollivon - 8.5
It had to be a close call between Ollivon, Dulin and Alldritt for man of the match. The French captain didn't need to do too much for his try but he was in the right place at the right time.
Elsewhere, he lead the defence making more tackles than any other player (20) missing just one. Where Ollivon's rating his hurt is in the lineout which he normally dominates.
Ireland defended it well and Ollivon also poorly threw one away after getting picked off the first lineout of the game.
8. Gregory Alldritt - 8.5
Another brilliant display from Alldritt who seemed to revel in his battle with CJ Stander as he lined up the Irish no.8 on numerous occasions. He managed to stop Stande in his tracks once or two while he was on the other end of the tackle when Fickou ripped the ball from Stander's clutches. He did well to hold up a number of Irish attackers and came up with a few rips. His carries were just as impressive as he also offloaded in contact superbly.
Replacements:
Pierre Bourgarit - n/a
Got five minutes off the bench.
Hassane Kolingar - n/a
Five tackles in his five minutes on the pitch showed that he certainly made an effort but not fair to hand him a rating on that.
Uini Atonio - 5
His massive frame could have been used better on attack while he managed just three tackles in 25 minutes. Managed to hold on at scrum time.
Romain Taofifenua - 5
Won a turnover and made two tackles in his 11 minutes.
Dylan Cretin -5
A silly push almost cost France dearly but Cretin fronted up on defence to lock Ireland out.
Baptiste Serin - n/a
Chris Whitaker will know well how Serin feels as once again he remained on the bench while Dupont charged around.
Anthony Bouthier - n/a
With Dulin impressing there was no need for Galthie to inject Bouthier.
Teddy Thomas - 6
Hardly touched the ball in his 14 minutes on the pitch as Jalibert threw a stinker of a pass which Thomas may well have finished off.
Leapt superbly into the Dublin sky to pluck the ball out of Ireland's grasps with little concern over his own body. A big moment for France.
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