France were sensational in the first half. Running the ball from everywhere and crafting three tries out of sheer blinding pace. Amazing to think that Vincent Clerc, scorer of all three first half tries, was actually dropped from the team as France continue to experiment post world cup and only got back in when his chosen replacement cried off with injury.

France demolished the Irish line out too, but surprisingly, their scrum was pants. They went backwards at a rate of knots, conceding one penalty try after repeated infringements at a 5m scrum and a mauled over try which they were unable to stop.

It showed that france could win a grand slam this year, despite throwing in a lot of new young players and experimenting. But the Irish comeback, which left them hammering at the french line while only one score behind also showed that for all their razzle dazzle, if France can’t keep it up for 80 minutes, somebody will do them.

I fancy the welsh to in cardiff in the last match.