Clerc's stunning hat-trick keeps Ireland at bay

From 20 points down after 49 minutes, and heading for the kind of beating which would surely have signalled a massive bloodletting in the Irish ranks, they shook their fists, dug in their heels and reminded themselves that they, too, can play this game with the best.

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In the end, they fell heart-rendingly short, but they had contributed to the finest match this Six Nations is likely to see, and they had, even in defeat, re-established themselves as the rugby force they were before their miserable World Cup experiences.

For their part, the French will be wondering how they almost allowed the game to get away after a first half in which their backs ran spectacularly wild and the superb Vincent Clerc took a hat-trick of tries.

The warnings for Ireland were there as early as the fourth minute, when Aurelien Rougerie took a quick tap penalty and set off on a run of fully 70 yards. Ireland infringed at the breakdown, but Jean-Baptiste Elissalde missed the simple penalty.

Inside 10 minutes, Rougerie had slashed any number of gaping gashes in the Irish defence, yet men in green were starting to have their say.

In the 12th minute, a wondrously intricate Irish move was carried out at pace, and only Dimitri Szarzewski's tackle on Eoin Reddan denied the try they deserved. Athenry broke out across the Stade for the first time, and Ireland started to believe in themselves.

In such a mood, they were desperately unfortunate to fall behind in 15 minutes, when France captain Lionel Nallet battered his way through a ruck and allowed Elissalde to insert a teasingly precise kick. Clerc simply flew down the left wing to win the touchdown, Elissalde converting.

Two minutes later, a well-struck penalty from Ronan O'Gara hauled Ireland back a little, but a minute further on, France delivered what seemed the decisive blow, as David Skrela, straight-backed and swift, set off on an urgent run down the left, wafted an extravagant dummy and sent in Clerc for his second try.

Yet, Irish chances continued to emerge, indeed they enjoyed territorial advantage, but they lacked that cutting edge which France possessed in dramatic abundance.

Another O'Gara penalty was slim reward for their efforts, and it was rendered irrelevant by another French try.

It was the product of another ferocious counter-attack, the ball flashing through a bewildering array of hands.

Cedric Heymans injected pace and Clerc, a finisher par excellence, celebrated his hat-trick with a flourish of a dive, Elissalde converting.

So, 19-6 at half-time, with the Dax band belting out its time-honoured repertoire, the crowd singing Roll Out The Barrel and Paris going splendidly, stridently wild.

Then nine minutes into the second half, the French ran in yet another try, with Elissalde's kick half-blocked by Brian O'Driscoll and Heymans the flyer screeching though the spaces like a Ferrari through a field of tractors to dab it down beneath the posts.

Elissalde converted for 26-6, and we wondered just how bad the beating might become. Mercifully, Ireland were untroubled by such fears.

The forwards gathered themselves, reorganised, tightened their game and tore into their tasks. And the French wilted, alarmingly.

On 58 minutes, under intense Irish pressure, they conceded a penalty try. O'Gara chipped over the conversion for 26-13, and there was the whiff of a miracle in the air.

On the hour, a still more satisfying success, with David Wallace fighting his way over from the fringe of a ruck, his score confirmed by the video referee.

O'Gara missed the important kick, but Ireland were a mere eight points away, and Paris was turning into a bright green bedlam.

Ireland were now performing with the flair they mislaid just a year ago.

They were winning the challenges, making the yards, imposing the terms.

O'Gara rewarded them with a nerveless penalty from wide out in 74 minutes, and at 26-21, they went searching for the decisive score. It was glorious, a team transformed, a championship reshaped. But the points would not come.

O'Driscoll led by example, throwing off all his inhibitions and dashing, diving, driving forward for the try which would take the day.

But the passes would not go to hand, the line would not yield, the French would not be put away. And so it ended, five points the difference. A memorable match; almost a miracle, almost the most extraordinary win, almost an Irish afternoon in Paris.

FRANCE: Heymans, Rougerie, Marty, Traille, Clerc, Skrela (Trinh-Duc 76min), Elissalde (Parra 64), Mas, Szarzewski (Servat 47), Faure (Brugnaut 47), Mela, Nallet, Ouedraogo, Dusautoir, Bonnaire.

IRELAND: Dempsey, Murphy, B O'Driscoll, Trimble, Kearney, O'Gara, Reddan, Horan, Jackman (Best 59), Hayes (Buckley 77), O'Callaghan, O'Kelly (M O'Driscoll 53), Leamy, D Wallace, Heaslip.

Referee: N Owens (WRFU).