Ireland were left licking their wounds on Saturday afternoon, as France crushed their Grand Slam hopes in devastating fashion in Dublin.
The match was tipped to decide the victors of the Six Nations for the fourth year in a row, with Ireland top of the table and unbeaten and France chasing after their defeat in Twickenham.
It now looks hugely unlikely that the trophy will be coming back to Ireland for the third successive year.
A low-scoring first half saw France grow in influence, even after the contentious loss of their captain Antoine Dupont through what could be an ACL injury. Despite going in only 8-6 ahead and facing down 40 minutes without Dupont, the blue wave in the second half was utterly remarkable.
21-year-old star Louis Bielle-Biarrey was a tryscorer for the seventh test game in a row and he and the French backline tore Ireland asunder in the second half to take a phenomenal 42-27 victory.
Ireland looked shellshocked and lost for the vast majority of the second half, only threatening in the French 22 once the game had been wrapped up, and chasing shadows in their defensive efforts.
For a side renowned for their in-game management, this was a capitulation from Ireland. Speaking on ITV post-match, Irish legend Brian O'Driscoll pulled no punches.
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O'Driscoll: Ireland "lucky" only to lose by 15 against France
8 March 2025; Louis Bielle-Biarrey of France celebrates with teammate Romain Ntamack, right, after scoring their side's third try during the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Ireland now require a miracle on the final day if they are to win the Six Nations, after their humbling at the hands of France on Saturday.
It was a situation that Brian O'Driscoll mused they could have no complaints with.
The 2009 Grand Slam-winning captain was on punditry duty with ITV in Dublin, and issued a withering assessment of Ireland's performance, saying they had been "lucky" the margin of defeat had been only 15 points.
O'Driscoll said that Fabien Galthié's deployment of a 7-1 bench split had made the difference, and that Ireland had been unable to deal with the French physicality.
We were questioning before the game the risk-reward nature to [France's 7-1 bench split]. But my goodness, it worked so well in that second half. Just as Ireland started to tire, to bring on those fresh legs.
Ireland just couldn't deal, there was an onslaught. The way they changed the point of contact the whole time, kept the ball alive, won the collision zone. Ireland were chasing shadows.
You could've understood thinking, when Ireland did score early in that second-half, 'Oh, the momentum's swung now.' But [France's] ability to bounce back immediately, score within a couple of seconds, the momentum was completely taken away from Ireland. It was all in France's favour.
There's been question marks always about France when they travel, that was putting Ireland to the sword.
It really was [one of France's best-ever wins]. You think about the result in Twickenham a few years ago, the way they played over there...Ireland were lucky to only lose by 15 points today, that's how big a differential there was between these sides.
A brutal assessment, but it's unfortunately hard to argue with Brian O'Driscoll on this one.
Ireland have a lot of soul-searching to do before their final game in Rome next weekend, while France are now firm favourites to win their first Six Nations crown in three years.
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