Galthie hails France’s attacking masterclass

Hosts stew Irish to leave Farrell fuming

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France's Theo Attissogbe scores their fifth try against Ireland in the Six Nations Championship.

(REUTERS)

France head coach Fabien Galthie lauded his team’s attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener on Thursday.

A brace of tries from Louis Bielley-Biarrey and one from mercurial fly-half Matthieu Jalibert helped France storm into a 29-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing Ireland back into the match, before winger Theo Attissogbe put some gloss on the victory late on.

“In an attacking sense, with the ball, the team played with great accuracy,” Galthie said.

“Tt was one of the most accurate attacking performances in a long time despite the weather conditions.

“The variety between kicking and keeping the ball in hand was remarkable.”

Playing together for only the second time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, halfbacks Antoine Dupont and Jalibert made light of the rain to continuously probe Ireland for weaknesses.

Both helped create a try with a deft chip over Ireland’s rush defence.