France maul Ireland to kick start Six Nations title defence
Guinness Six Nations
France 36-14 Ireland
France made a sensational start to this year’s Six Nations Championship, leaving Ireland reeling after notching up a 36-14 victory in Paris.
Les Bleus delivered a ruthless opening-half performance to take firm control against Ireland in the opening fixture of the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, racing into a commanding 22–0 lead by the interval at a raucous Stade de France.
Heavy pre-match favourites, Fabien Galthié’s side wasted little time asserting their authority, combining pace, power and precision to overwhelm an Ireland team that struggled to gain any sustained foothold in the contest.
The first clear warning shot came early, when Jamie Osborne produced a superb long-range kick to earn Ireland a 50:22. Yet the visitors immediately squandered the opportunity, a loose offload knocked on just moments later, setting the tone for a frustrating evening.
France capitalised decisively. In the 13th minute, Wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey – last season’s Guinness Player of the Championship – opened the scoring with a moment of individual brilliance. Collecting possession near halfway, the winger accelerated down the left touchline, shrugged off a tap tackle and had too much speed for the covering defence to finish in the corner. Fullback Thomas Ramos added the conversion to make it 7–0.
The pressure continued to mount. A quickly taken penalty deep in Irish territory led to sustained French possession, and although fly-half Sam Prendergast briefly relieved the danger with an interception, his attempt to play out from behind his own goal line handed France a five-metre scrum.
From there, the hosts struck again. Attacking down the blindside, number ten Matthieu Jalibert exploited space close to the line to score France’s second try. Ramos struck the post with his conversion attempt, but France were firmly in control at 12–0.
Ireland’s defensive workload intensified as the half wore on, and another infringement inside their own 22 allowed Ramos to extend the lead with a straightforward penalty, stretching the advantage to 15 points.
France then produced the standout moment of the half. Jalibert chipped ahead to exploit space, and although the ball briefly came loose, Les Bleus had numbers to burn. Mickaël Guillard powered forward before offloading cleverly inside for second row partner Charles Ollivon, who surged through the final tackle to cross just inside the Irish 22. Ramos’ conversion made it four scores and underlined France’s dominance.
By the break, France had combined slick handling from their forwards with clinical finishing out wide, while Ireland were left scrambling, unable to slow the tempo or impose their own game. With three tries on the board before half-time, the hosts headed into the interval firmly in command and with the contest threatening to slip further away from the visitors.
Fabien Galthié’s side wasted little time tightening their grip after the restart. Within minutes, France had secured the all-important bonus point, Louis Bielle-Biarrey striking for his second try in fortuitous fashion. Antoine Dupont’s chip ahead was followed by an attempted clearance from Thomas Ramos that skewed off the boot and fell perfectly into the winger’s path. Bielle-Biarrey needed no second invitation, sprinting clear to touch down before Ramos added the conversion to stretch the lead to 29–0.
What followed bordered on exhibition rugby. France played with freedom and confidence, moving the ball with ease through multiple phases as Ireland struggled to slow the tempo. Ramos sparked another sweeping move moments later, a series of audacious offloads carrying France deep into Irish territory before an accidental offside brought a rare halt to the momentum.
Both sides turned to their benches as the contest entered its final quarter. France handed debuts and minutes to a number of replacements, including Kalvin Gourgues, while Ireland responded with wholesale changes in search of energy and pride.
The visitors finally found a foothold in the match on 58 minutes. Playing with penalty advantage, Sam Prendergast released Stuart McCloskey through a narrow gap, and the centre had the awareness to slip an inside pass to Nick Timoney, who crossed beneath the posts. Prendergast’s conversion reduced the deficit to 29–7.
Ireland added a second score shortly afterwards, this time through replacement loosehead Michael Milne. After a series of close-range carries, the prop forced his way over, the TMO confirming the grounding before Prendergast again added the extras to make it 29–14.
Any thoughts of a late revival were quickly extinguished. France regained control of territory and possession, twice going close through Nicolas Depoortere before he was held up over the line. The final word, fittingly, belonged to the hosts. Slick handling down the right wing created space for Théo Attissogbe, who finished acrobatically in the corner to cap an emphatic team performance. Ramos converted to seal the scoring at 36–14.
The final whistle confirmed a polished and powerful display from the reigning champions, who combined clinical finishing with flair and physical dominance. Ireland, by contrast, were left with plenty to reflect on after a bruising start to their campaign, departing Paris empty-handed as France set an early marker in the 2026 Championship.
FRANCE: 15 Thomas Ramos; 14 Theo Attissogbe; 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana; 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey; 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain); 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 Julien Marchand, 3 Dorian Aldegheri; 4 Charles Ollivon, 5 Mickael Guillard; 6 Francois Cros, 7 Oscar Jegou, 8 Anthony Jelonch.
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Regis Montagne, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Emmanual Meafou, 21 Lenni Nouchi, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Kalvin Gourgues.
IRELAND: 15 Jamie Osborne; 14 Tommy O’Brien; 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey; 11 Jacob Stockdale; 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 1 Jeremy Loughman, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Thomas Clarkson; 4 Joe McCarthy, 5 Tadhg Beirne; 6 Cian Prendergast, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris (captain).
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Nick Timoney, 22 Craig Casey, 23 Jack Crowley.
Referee: Karl Dickson (ENG)
