Ireland fall short in France
Vincent Clerc was Ireland's chief tormentor yet again as his try helped France clinch a 19-12 win at Stade Chaban-Delmas.
Last Updated: 14/08/11 1:18am
Vincent Clerc was Ireland's chief tormentor yet again as his try helped France clinch a 19-12 win at Stade Chaban-Delmas in Bordeaux.
The winger crossed for the ninth time in as many games against the Irish, while Dimitri Yachvili kicked all the rest of the home side's points in the World Cup warm-up fixture.
Les Bleus were the dominant side in the opening half but fell away after the break, allowing their opponents to come back into the contest.
Ronan O'Gara kicked the visitors to within a point with four penalties, only for Yachvili to knock over two of his own in the closing 14 minutes.
Positives
Still, Ireland can take positives, particularly after the arrival of Paul O'Connell and Jamie Heaslip from the bench, from their second-half display.
They had been forced to withstand a ferocious start from their opponents in the early stages, with Yachvili's first penalty breaking the deadlock after just three minutes.
Rob Kearney kept France at bay by reeling in Clerc just five metres out, while it took a try-saving tackle from Andrew Trimble to deny Francois Trinh Duc.
However, there was nothing any Irishman could do to stop Clerc after 18 minutes, winger Alexis Palisson brilliantly slipping the ball to his team-mate.
Scrum-half Yachvili landed the conversion and then a further penalty to make it 13-0 after 27 minutes.
Ireland looked rattled and their attempts to build momentum lacked conviction in the face of such aggressive defensive from France and it was with some relief that O'Gara slotted a penalty just before the end of a torrid half.
Exploded
But, having been on the back foot for so long, Ireland exploded into life for the first time in the match with a fine break from Kearney straight after the interval.
The full-back raced 30 metres before running out of space and becoming isolated, but the move finished with an O'Gara penalty to make it 13-6.
A raft of replacements saw a dip in the pace of the game, but it was France who were suffering most as they became increasingly ragged.
A pair of penalties from the trusty boot of O'Gara followed as Ireland sensed the possibility of pulling off a remarkable comeback on their travels.
In the end, though, Yachvili put paid to their hopes by kicking a further six points, inflicting a second successive defeat on Declan Kidney's side following their loss to Scotland the previous week.
