Referee Angus Gardener told Antoine Dupont he knew from the player’s reaction that his side had knocked on before scoring against Ireland. After withstanding heavy pressure in the opening 14 minutes, the visitors thought they’d opened the scoring after crossing against the run of play.
After an Irish attack broke down in midfield, away winger Damian Penaud raced into the oppositon half before feeding Dupont, who ran in unopposed from 30 metres. The French celebrations were cut short though as Gardener immediately called for the TMO. With the crowd now able to hear officials discuss decisions, the Australian asked his colleagues to see if Penaud had pushed the ball forward before regathering it.
The replays left fans, players, and officials in little doubt. Gardener then approached Dupont to explain his decision, and laughed as he told the skipper his initial reaction had already given the game away.
« I thought you might have known, you looked up at me and smiled, » he said. The scrum-half saw the funny side, nodding sheepishly as he conceded the referee was right.
However, it wasn’t long before the official made a decision that led to the opening try for France. After Ireland forward Joe McCarthy was yellow-carded for a late challenge, the visitors took a 5-0 advantage.
Inevitably, Dupont was heavily involved, breaking down the blindside and sending out a long pass for Louis Bielle-Biarrey to score. Just minutes later though, the French playmaker was forced off with an injury, potentially a huge blow to his side.
It wasn’t the only injury drama to have tainted the contest. Just minutes before kick-off, Ireland winger James Lowe limped out of the warm-up with a back spasm and duly dropped out of the starting XV.
At half-time, it was Les Bleus who held the advantage. After the Bielle-Biarrey try, Sam Prendergast kicked two penalties and Thomas Ramos one as France, needing victory to keep their title hopes alive, went into the break 8-6 up.
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