First Match Report of the New Site

Eddie O'Sullivan's side avoided a humiliating defeat by touching down four times in a stunning 16-minute spell in the second half as the hosts visibly tired, but a defeat it was nonetheless. Unfortunately, by the time of the first Irish try from fly half Ronan O'Gara,who moved ahead of David Humphreys (560) in the all-time points-scoring stakes - his 16-point haul pushed the record up to 563, les Bleus were already 43-3 in front.
A combination of unforced errors and seriously bad luck helped France grab four tries without reply in the first half for a 29-3 lead at the break. Aurelien Rougerie and Olivier Magne, two of the players that coach Bernard Laporte recalled into the French squad last week, crossed for the first two, while David Marty and Cedric Heymans also scored in the opening 40 minutes.
Just eight minutes into the second half, all and sundry were reaching for the record books as Heymans and Marty scored again to push Laporte's men 43-3 in front. Ireland were just two points off their biggest ever score conceded to the French - 1996's 45-10 collapse in Paris. Then, out of nowhere, one of the greatest comeback bids in Test rugby was on the cards.
Tries from O'Gara, Gordon D'Arcy, and replacements Donncha O'Callaghan andAndrew Trimble suddenly had O'Sullivan's charges on the front foot and only 12 points behind with six minutes remaining.
There were further snipes at the French line as the Irish tried in vein to score two more tries and pull off a famous victory, but the clock got the better of them. Still, in a game of two halves, Ireland can take a good deal of positives into their next RBS 6 Nations outing against 2005 champions Wales on Sunday, February 26 (Lansdowne Road, kick-off 3.00pm).