Europe really is in a shambolic state! As if being abandoned by the U.S. in favor of an Eastern bloc bully wasn’t enough, now comes word that Ireland likely won’t threepeat as Six Nations champions after all!
Ireland took it on the chin and every other body part from France in a 42-27 loss on Saturday in Dublin. The final score doesn’t really reflect just how brutally the Irish were pounded in the second half of the match. The French players appeared to get bigger, stronger, and faster during a stretch in which they scored 34 unanswered points, crushing the hopes and dreams of the Aviva Stadium crowd and all fans of the tournament’s two-time defending champs. Ireland had a slight lead in the table heading into this much anticipated match, and was the betting favorite to beat France, which would have all but cemented another title in the world’s greatest annual international rugby competition. And what a big title that would be: The Six Nations tournament has been held among Europe’s finest squads since 1883, yet no country has ever won three consecutive outright championships in the event.
Alas, after Ireland’s stumble in the tourney’s penultimate weekend, that threepeatless skein looks plenty safe. The Irish are now in third place, behind both France and England, which routed Italy, 47-24, yesterday at Twickenham. Barring a windfall of unlikely blessings in the fifth and final round–including woeful Wales breaking a three-years-plus, 16-game Six Nations losing streak and somehow beating England next Saturday in Cardiff–Ireland won’t reclaim the top spot.
Ireland’s day started off real bad. Wing James Lowe, the best player and seemingly the soul of the squad throughout this year’s tournament, crumpled to the ground in obvious agony during pre-game workouts and was scratched with back spasms. Then bulky and beloved center Bundee Aki got kicked in the teeth just about a minute after kickoff and barely had a presence on the pitch the rest of the day.
The Irish looked their stoutest and controlled play over the game’s first 15 minutes, with several assaults deep into the French zone, but scored no points. Ireland captain Caelan Doris bashed his away across the try line in the sixth minute, but a gaggle of stout French defenders held him up and prevented him from touching the ball down for a score. Then Sam Prendergast, a sweet-faced 22-year old who hasn’t yet adjusted to being handed the No. 10 jersey and foisted on fans as the future of Irish rugby, made the first of many mistakes on the day by doinking a penalty off the left upright in the 10th minute.
France’s only early highlight came when captain and scrum half Antoine Dupont created a turnover deep in his side’s territory in the 13th minute and capped an exhilarating run with a dive between the posts for an apparent try. But the replay booth determined that Dupont had knocked the ball forward and disallowed the score. That was the last time the home side benefited from an official’s call. In the 19th minute Irish lock Joe McCarthy got caught pointlessly throwing a French player to the ground. Referee Angus Gardner, in one of his many lectures that went out over the stadium PA system, ruled McCarthy’s actions as “cynical and deliberate” while assessing a yellow card and banishing him to the sidelines for 10 minutes. France broke the scoreless tie less than a minute into its extra-man situation when Louis Bielle-Biarrey took a nifty pass from Dupont and waltzed in for a try. A missed conversion left it at 5-0, France. The game stayed mostly defensive for the rest of the first half, which ended 8-6 in France’s favor as the teams swapped penalties and Dupont went out with ruptured cruciate ligaments in his right knee after an iffy hit.
Coming out of the break, Ireland got a try from Dan Sheehan after a massive team-wide tush push at the 42-minute mark. Prendergast added the conversion to put his side up, 13-8, and a win and Grand Slam and rugby immortality seemed possible.
Then came the blitz to end all blitzes.
Perhaps France and/or the gods and, what the hell, maybe even the referee were out to avenge the loss of Dupont, who is frequently hailed as the best rugby player in the world. But everything flipped utterly in favor of the French as soon as Ireland took their first and only lead of the day. Calvin Nash, the guy who’d taken Lowe’s place in the lineup, got yellow carded by Gardner a high tackle in the 45th minute.
Over the next half-hour of game time, France scored 34 points and gave up zero.
France’s Paul Boudehent started the binge with a try just a minute after Nash’s carding. Referee Gardner bizarrely overruled replay officials who’d spotted a French player throwing a pancake block on Irish back-rower Peter O'Mahony ahead of the play. Gardner again took to the PA to say he was letting the try stand despite the obvious foul, explaining he disregarded the downfield block because O’Mahony was moving backwards when he got walloped. The home fans, who understandably could have mistaken the Australian referee’s accent as British, booed that ruling lustily.
But, for the rest of the match, the French gave the home crowd much more to feel bad about than Gardner had. Hell, so did Prendergast, who was just a couple meters from the try zone when he launched a lazy lob that was intercepted and taken the length of the field for a humiliating and final French score.
But, bottom line: The better team won.
Meanwhile, in other Six Nations weekend action: The Scots escaped with a 35-29 win at Murrayfield on Saturday. The home side took a massive lead on woeful Wales then held on for the win. A burgeoning miraculous comeback from from the visitors was stymied when the referee disallowed a late second-half try because full-back Blair Murray leapt over a Scottish defender on a thrilling breakaway. (Legal or no, Murray’s Saquon-like effort is good rugby and worth watching.)
And yesterday in London, England smashed Italy, 47-24. Much as the French did in Dublin, England turned a close match into a rout in the early minutes of the second half and cruised. England were just too big and determined for Italy, who have still never beaten England in rugby. Italy’s 2025 squad is indeed loaded with fast and daring players, but as a side still produces better highlight reels than results. (But check ‘em out here to see that even losing rugby can be occasionally beautiful.)
With the bonus-point win, England now stands just a single point behind the French in the tournament table. France faces Scotland in the final weekend with the Six Nations championship hanging in the balance. England has only a gimme match against woeful Wales remaining, and if form holds at all should get a win and another bonus point. That means that should Dupont-less France stumble in the final weekend as Ireland just did, England is poised to take this year’s title. Please god, no!
