Ireland have got their Six Nations campaign off to a winning start courtesy of a dramatic 15-13 victory over France in Paris this evening.
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Joe Schmidt, the Ireland head coach, believes his side never made the most of the advantages they created.
We touched on it a few times in the build-up to this Test, because all the logic pointing towards an Irish win had to be weighed against a whole lot of history to the contrary. How costly that miss proved to be as Ireland worked their way back up the pitch, phase after phase, Sexton applying the final coup de grace as time stood still at the Stade de France.
England, of course, have been crowned champions in the past two years but if any side is going to deny them an unprecedented hat-trick of titles, it is likely to be Ireland.
The match is on BBC One with coverage from 4.15pm, and can also be viewed on the BBC website and BBC Sport app.
What are the match odds?
Schmidt’s men have won nine of their last 11 games stretching back to the beginning of 2017.
Scotland improved immeasurably under former coach Vern Cotter and Gregor Townsend has kept them on the same path over the previous year.
“It looked like it was going to be deja vu when it was 9-3 at half-time, same as two years ago, then they get a try out of nothing”.
Along the way they have also successfully incorporated young talent‚ as was evidenced with their two-nil Test series win in Argentina in June past year.
A draw is priced at 25/1.
France have opted for youth over experience this Six Nations and Matthieu Jalibert is a prime example of this.
Josh van der Flier is a major doubt for the Dublin encounter, after he suffered knee ligament damage during the victory in Paris.
Brunel, who took over from Guy Noves after a poor November series, banked on Jalibert to instill some life into the French team, but the 19-year-old limped off the field after half an hour. That’s not to mention Henderson claiming the restart or the clear-out work done by the likes of Jack McGrath, John Ryan, Fergus McFadden and Toner.
Replacements: Pelissie, Priso, Gomes Sa, Gabrillagues, Tauleigne, Dupont, Belleau, Fall.
This latest effort brought the Rathgar native past the 650 global points barrier, and set Ireland up nicely for the start of the second half.
However, with new France coach Jacques Brunel making some bold choices, including naming teenager Matthieu Jalibert at flyhalf, Schmidt said even the most recent performance should matter little.
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“The favourites tag isn’t something that we’ve talked about or worry about”.
