France Thrash Ireland under the Thursday Night Lights

France opened the Guinness Six Nations with a sensational win over a struggling Ireland under the lights in Paris. The atmosphere at the Stade de France was electric, and the home side rewarded the fans with a brilliant performance.

The talented Louis Bielle-Biarrey opened the scoring after 12 minutes. France doubled their lead nine minutes later as Matthieu Jalibert dove over, before Charles Ollivon added a third before the break. The hosts took a 22–0 lead into the sheds at half-time as Ireland offered extremely little; it was the first time the Irish had been held scoreless in a first half since 2020.

Andy Farrell’s men needed a much better second half, but the game looked effectively over when Bielle-Biarrey scored his second of the night just six minutes after the restart. Nick Timoney eventually got Ireland on the scoreboard just before the hour mark, and Michael Milne added a second try a few minutes later to spark hope of a comeback.

Ultimately, it was too little, too late. The contest was truly settled when Théo Attissogbe scored the hosts' fifth try to send the home fans happy. While Ireland were missing big names like Mack Hansen and Hugo Keenan, the side named last night should have performed significantly better. Simply put, they were outplayed by an exceptional French side.

Ireland return home next week to welcome Italy to the Aviva Stadium, where they will look to get their campaign back on track. Meanwhile, France travel to Cardiff to face Wales at the Principality Stadium. They will arrive as heavy favorites while Wales continue to be surrounded by questions.

One final point on last night's action: it was brilliant to see Antoine Dupont back in blue. He proved once again just how world-class he truly is.