History was behind France at the start of this one, Les Bleus winning 55 of the 89 encounters, Ireland just 29. The last time these sides had drawn was in 1985 in Dublin, the score was 15-15 that day.

France hadn’t recovered fully from their shabby performance against Scotland last week but came back in the second half, securing a crucial point but ruling both sides out of Grand Slam contention.

Two first half tries from Tommy Bowe, one thanks to poor French passing, the other due to a bit of luck, and a penalty goal from Jonny Sexton gave Ireland their total of 17 points. The reliable boot of scrum-half Morgan Parra and a Wesley Fofana try made up the French points tally.

A wild pass from Aurelien Rougerie gifted Tommy Bowe the perfect opportunity to get Ireland on the score sheet. Bowe quite literally grasped the opportunity with both hands and sailed under the posts, albeit looking slightly confused as to how he had got to where he was.

The French really pressured the Irish line in the early stages of the second quarter with Trinh-Duc and Parra helping to link the forward packs to the back line. As referee Dave Pearson awarded France a penalty, the volume of the crowd rose as the French support demanded a yellow card for the Irish offence. Instead, Parra slotted the penalty to narrow the gap to seven points.

An exchange of penalties on the half hour mark from Sexton and Parra for their respective sides set the scoreboard to 6-10 but the visiting side had not yet completed their first half scoring.

A rather greedy Tommy Bowe saw another opportunity down the wing and chipped the ball past French full-back Poitrenaud, a simple pass back inside would have been an easier option but a lucky bounce provided Bowe with an easy run in for his second score.

Fifty minutes into the match one of the few remaining French attackers who looked lively, Wesley Fofana, crossed for his third try on his third cap for France. Dave Pearson checked with the Video Referee to make sure Fofana grounded the ball which he had. Parra converted and the gap was closed to just three points with the score at 14-17.

Morgan Parra rounded off the late comeback from the hosts with a penalty kick. After his earlier passing shocker, Rougerie provided a key pass to Malzieu in the closing moments which would have seen France score had it not been for a resilient Irish defence that had been working hard throughout.

Final Score: France 17 Ireland 17