The sense of an opportunity lost lingered long into the stadium air at Lansdowne Road last night according to the Irish Times' Gerry Thornley.
"Despite the Sunday kick-off, the Six Nations made a raucous and entertaining, if flawed, return to the refurbished old ground, but for all the talk of French flair it was Irish mistakes which snatched a threes-tries-to-one defeat from the jaws of victory.
"For sure, some of the depth and width which the French backs applied looked both ominous and pretty, but much of their recycling was slow and ultimately Ireland limited them to one try, and that off a missed tackle.
"But combined with the concession of 18 points from penalties – remarkably, seven of France’s nine penalties which an unconvincing Dave Pearson awarded were within kicking range – France did not have to work anything like as hard for their points.
"The surfeit of three-pointers also reflects how Ireland enjoyed a 50-50 split of possession, yet until the final quarter France had much more of the territory."
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