Ireland and France was billed to be a Guinness Six Nations classic, and it proved to be just that, with the world’s best two teams gripping the entire rugby world.
It was the home and world number one side Ireland who claimed the scalp this time, with Garry Ringrose’s late score securing a 32-19 win at the Aviva Stadium – their 13th win in a row in the Dublin cauldron.
In what was the first ever Guinness Six Nations match between the top two sides in the rugby world rankings, the first half was one of the great halves in the history of the Championship with both sides scoring outrageous tries in a true ding-dong battle.
Awesome Ireland see off France in epic battle
In the end though, Ireland had just enough to finish on top – with their biggest ever win over France in the Championship.
Such a game attracted quite a lot of attention on social media, and here is the best of the social analysis.
The atmosphere at The Aviva Stadium was outstanding, and there were plenty of France supporters in attendance.
While the first home rendition of Ireland’s Call in Dublin caused serious goosebumps.
Once the first whistle was blown – chaos ensued, starting with a sensational try from Hugo Keenan following a wonderful pop pass by Finlay Bealham, causing some loving to the Ireland prop.
It may have looked familiar to a few old school viewers too…
It did not take long for France to hit back themselves, with a remarkable score from Damian Penaud.
But then Ireland were in again, and once again it was a formidable try, with James Lowe acrobatically diving into the left corner for a memorable score.
It was a sensational opening 20 minutes, with three contenders for try of the Championship in the opening quarter and some Guinness Six Nations legends could not believe what they were seeing.
More chaos would follow, with Andrew Porter scoring Ireland’s third try of the afternoon but it was a tackle by France captain Antoine Dupont that got people talking, when the scrum half managed to somehow stop Mack Hansen against all odds from securing the bonus point before half-time.
And that prompted the annual questioning of whether Dupont is human or not?
Ireland led 22-16 at the break in one of the most incredible halves of Guinness Six Nations history – with many legends agreeing.
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It was an incredible game of rugby to watch – but with so much quality on show, it was also a very nervy display for supporters.
The second half may not have had the tries of the first, but there were still plenty of incredible moments, including Ethan Dumortier’s sensational break.
France temporarily put themselves right in the mix with an important drop goal from Thomas Ramos to reduce the gap to six points.
But then the killer blow came from Garry Ringrose, who showed incredible power to dive over the line past three France players after a simply incredible offload from Caelan Doris.
Ireland were the winners and will now be favourites for the Grand Slam but ultimately it was a day where rugby was the real winner.
France’s winning run came to an end, but Ireland’s incredible run in Dublin continues in what was a truly sensation affair.
