| No. | Name | |
|---|---|---|
15Maxime Médard, - | ||
14Teddy Thomas, - | ||
13Maxime Mermoz, - | ||
12Jonathan Danty, - | ||
11Virimi Vakatawa, - | ||
10Jules Plisson, - | ||
9Sebastien Bezy, - | ||
1Jefferson Poirot, - | ||
2Guilhem Guirado, - | ||
3Uini Atonio, - | ||
4Alexandre Flanquart, - | ||
5Yoann Maestri, - | ||
6Wenceslas Lauret, - | ||
7Yacouba Camara, - | ||
8Damien Chouly, - | ||
| Replacements | ||
16Camille Chat, - | ||
17Rabah Slimani, - | ||
18Eddy Ben Arous, - | ||
19Paul Jedrasiak, - | ||
20Loann Goujon, - | ||
21Maxime Machenaud, - | ||
22Jean-Marc Doussain, - | ||
23Hugo Bonneval, - | ||
FRA
IRE*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold
The sky over the Stade de France cleared and the rain stopped as Maxime Medard darted around the back of the scrum and over the line to keep French grand slam hopes alive. The crowd erupted into a sea of blue, white and red tricolor as Plisson added the extras to give France the lead - how on earth they managed it is a mystery. For much of the match, Guy Noves' men were second best but a six-day turnaround and host of injuries - O'Brien, McCarthy and Sexton to name a few - meant it was too much for Ireland. By no means a classic, but France's love for rugby may have just been reignited on Valentine's weekend.