Two tries each from Biarritz pair Serge Betsen and Nicolas Brusque helped a powerful and prolific French side romp to the Grand Slam and Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship title with a record 44-5 demolition of Ireland at the Stade de France.
Bernard Laporte's men claimed their third Grand Slam in six seasons, their mixture of fluent handling and energy-sapping support play starving a lacklustre Irish side of possession and territory.
They scored five tries in total, Aurelien Rougerie adding to Betsen and Brusque's pair on a day where they topped their previous record score against the Irish – a 45-10 win in Paris back in 1996.
In truth, Ireland were never at the races on a sunny afternoon which was always more about the home side than them, hooker Keith Wood registering their only points with a first half try as they lost yards and ground to the convincing and energetic French pack.
The blue ribbons may as well have been wrapped around the trophy as early as two minutes into a half which saw Ireland dragged from pillar to post by a rampant and purposeful French eight, blindside Serge Betsen cantering through on the overlap for the opening try as the stragglers were still finding their seat numbers.
It came from a big rolling maul from the French front eight, Merceron breaking before the French backs took the Irish defence first right, then crucially left, long passes opening the gap for Betsen in the left corner, Merceron converting from out wide.
It was all France, but the Irish managed to get within a sniff of parity – on the scoreboard at least – with an 11th minute try from hooker Keith Wood.
It stemmed from one of the only pieces of first half imagination from the men in green, Munster centre Rob Henderson breaking with the uneffective lateral pattern to dink a deft grubber past the flat French backline on the 22, the ensuing defensive panic leading to a five-metre scrum.
From that central scrumdown, the Irish pack bashed the first phase down the right, Wood coming at pace from the resulting ruck to dive through the tackles of Merceron and Magne for the try, David Humphreys missing the tricky conversion.
Two penalties from Merceron extended the French lead, and on 26 minutes les Bleus got just reward for their enterprise and ambition, Biarritz fullback Nicolas Brusque slicing a hole in the retreating Irish rearguard.
A lineout on halfway for the French saw Tony Marsh pierce the Irish three-quarter line, hooker Raphael Ibanez instrumental in a quick spread from right to left through the hands to put Brusque in between the tackles of Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan, Merceron narrowly missing the conversion from out wide on the left.
It was only four minutes later before the next running try, Montferrand flyer Aurelien Rougerie streaking away down the right wing from halfway after a typically sniping blindside half-break from scrum-half Fabien Galthie, Merceron converting before adding a penalty for a 28-5 half-time lead.
France continued their assault on the Irish line as the second half got underway, both Betsen and Magne going close before Merceron conservatively kicked a penalty from under the posts when a running option could have killed the game off as a contest, the fly-half opting for the same option again only minutes later to a slow hand clap, bludgeoning the kick wide of the posts.
The French crowd got the fourth try they wanted soon after when Betsen rumbled over in the left corner for his second try, les Bleus gaining huge momentum from a 20-metre rolling maul before Galthie spun the ball down the blindside for Betsen, Merceron failing to add the conversion from out wide.
Denis Hickie went close for Ireland after chasing a massive Ronan O'Gara punt, the bounce of the hacked-on ball working against the Leinster wing on a rare foray into French territory.
Damien Traille went close for the French in the final ten minutes of a half which did not have the same ruthlessness of the first stanza, sloppy handling dogging both sides in crucial areas, and Ireland failing to pressure a French side with victory already in the bag.
There was however time for one more moment of magic for the home fans when replacement back-row Remy Martin set off down the middle from the 22, the ball spun left through the quick hands of Traille and Marsh, who put in Brusque on the overlap for an easy run-in, replacement fly-half Francois Gelez striking the post with the conversion after hitting a penalty minutes earlier.
Referee Paddy O'Brien finally blew the whistle on what will go down as one of the great days in French rugby, as they cemented their place as the Six Nations' premier team, prising the Championship trophy away from the clutches of England, and claiming the feat which has eluded the English for so long, the Grand Slam.
Man of the match: Serge Betsen
Even his camouflage headguard could not hide the huge contribution of the Biarritz blindside, a personification of the renewed French cohesion and dynamism throughout the Championship. The usual suspects, Galthie and Magne get notable mentions, not forgetting immense No.8 Imanaol Harinordoquy. Candidates for Ireland few and far between, although Keith Wood and Denis Hickie never threw in the towel.
Moment of the match: Nicolas Brusque's first try
A cutting and speedy run from the Biarritz fullback showed excellent support play. A lineout on halfway and a break from Tony Marsh drew the Irish defence, and some quickly-worked ball from right to left caught the defence on the back foot, Brusque darting through two defenders for a memorable first half score.
Villain of the match: None
A good-tempered match saw little controversy and a fine general spirit. The French crowd did themselves no favours with some slow hand clapping and Mexican waves during play, but it would be harsh to label them party-poopers after their exuberant post-match celebrations.
(Half-time: France 28 Ireland 5)
Sin-bin: None
The teams:
France: 1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traillem, 14 David Bory, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves: David Auradou, Olivier Azam, Francois Gelez, Jimmy Marlu, Pierre Mignoni, Remy Martin, Jean-Baptiste Poux
Ireland: 1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 John Hayes, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 David Wallace, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Rob Henderson, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 14 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves: Paul Wallace, Keith Gleeson, Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara
Unused: Shane Byrne, Simon Easterby, John Kelly
Attendance: 79978
Referee: O'brien p.
Points Scorers
France
Tries: Betsen Tchoua S. 2, Brusque N. 2, Rougerie A. 1
Conv: Merceron G. 2
Pen K.: Merceron G. 4, Gelez F. 1
Ireland
Tries: Wood K.G.M. 1
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