KEY POINTS:
France 20 Ireland 17
There wasn't a dry eye in the stadium yesterday as bitter memories of the past at Croke Park were effectively erased and a new era began with the thrilling Six Nations match between France and Ireland.
On a pitch and a ground where several Irish players and spectators at a Gaelic Games match had been shot in 1920 by British Army Auxiliaries - the Black and Tans - there was no sight or sound of discontent from the devout followers of the Gaelic sports.
Instead, brightly-coloured French supporters mixed with the green "amis" of Ireland and drank, cheered and jeered together - a sight in the 82,000 capacity stadium that would have been unheard of just five years ago.
"I thought at one point we were going to let all those people down on such a great occasion," admitted Irish skipper Paul O'Connell, reflecting on their slow start in the Six Nations defeat, the first rugby match at the stadium.
Ireland looked to be heading for an emotional victory when Ronan O'Gara, who scored all their points, landed a 77th-minute penalty to earn a 17-13 lead.
But France, who had not scored since captain Raphael Ibanez's converted try in the 15th minute, summoned one final attack and winger Vincent Clerc broke Irish hearts when he scored a last-minute try to earn France the win.
Clerc broke through three attempted tackles to earn the holders a fifth successive victory over the hosts.
"It was a cruel way to lose a game of rugby by any standards," Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan said.
"It was tough to take as I thought we played well enough to win the game."
- REUTERS
