A lot of French column inches have been devoted to Ireland's tense and narrow win at the Aviva. There were some common themes from media outlet to media outlet, with the impact the French subs had on the game, Johnny Sexton's influence and Camille Lopez the subject of much of the dissection in the aftermath of the game.
Le Monde: A Lack Of Discipline
Le Monde reported that Phillipe Saint Andre blamed much of the result on France's lack of discipline. France conceded 14 penalties which gave Ireland significant momentum in the opening period, and helped them established their win, as Sexton nailed six penalties from six attempts.
This claim was reiterated by L'Equipe, who acknowledged that the maximum number of penalties a team should concede (11) was passed in the 52nd minute.
In the same article, Richard Escot of L'Equipe proclaimed Sexton as the "King of the Land", praising his bravery, control of the game and his unerring accuracy from the tee.
RugbyRama: Sexton was perfect
Sexton had a bigger article contributed to him by the editor of Rugbyrama. Despite the targeting that the Racing Metro man received, he was close to perfect:
Author of a perfect performance, the former (and future) Leinster out half opening controlled the match as he saw fit. Solid defense despite repeated assaults of Bastareaud down his channel, Sexton was most distinguished by his attacking play. Looped passing moves, bombs that fall in the right place and perfect placekicking, he controlled play in French territory.
In contrast to Sexton, his opposite number Camille Lopez was slated by all papers. L'Equipe asked if Lopez should be in the team at all. They note that there is no sense of a working partnership between himself and his halfback partner Rory Kockott.
Le Figaro were much harsher on Lopez, giving him a match rating of 2/10 and claiming that he had erased most of the credit he'd built up with his impressive opening to his international career. They blamed the messy, slow nature of their first hour squarely on the Clermont outhalf, and noted that it wasn't until Morgan Parra took to the pitch that France had any clarity on what they wanted to do.
The Clermont outhalf still lacked accuracy and consistency in his lack of gameplan alteration. Often inaccurate in his kicking game, and hard to compare to the playmaker he was facing. Missed a key penalty in the 62th minute that could have brought victory to France.
France 24 put the focus on Ireland, awarding them the title of favourites to win both the Six Nations, and the World Cup clash between the two countries.
Finally, Phillip Saint Andre has promised changes for the France's game against Wales, saying that some of the starting players didn't perform well enough that would allow them to win. Rugbyrama wondered aloud if any of the substitutes that brought a positive influence for France could have the same impact from the start.
