Gardaí last night expressed satisfaction with the conduct of supporters attending the Ireland-France international in Croke Park, as well as with traffic-management measures introduced around the Croke Park area.
By yesterday evening officers had reported one arrest for a public order offence, which they said was unrelated to the game.
Gardaí had earlier put in place significant traffic and other restrictions around the stadium,which included providing two supervised car parks for more than 81,000 supporters attending the game.
There was a visible Garda presence on the streets around Croke Park after the game, with gardaí directing crowds away from the stadium. Numerous coaches were also parked on Mountjoy Square.
A spokeswoman for the Garda Press Office said that, as would be expected, there was heavy traffic in the area, but that there had been no major incidents.
AA Roadwatch said while traffic around Drumcondra and the north quays was extremely congested at times, this was in accordance with previous match days in Croke Park and there was little out of the ordinary.
The Croke Park location also saw a number of southside pubs offering free or subsidised coaches to and from the game.
A spokesman for Paddy Cullen's in Ballsbridge said it had offered a double-decker bus and a 50-seater coach to patrons on a "first-come first-served basis". While the pub was busy yesterday evening, custom was down compared to a typical Lansdowne Road match day, he said.
A spokesman for Kiely's in Donnybrook,which sent three coachloads to and from the match for €5, including a free drink, said it was almost as busy as a normal match day at Lansdowne.
Many patrons had also opted to watch the day's proceedings there, he added.
The consensus among jubilant French fans leaving the stadium was that the atmosphere at Croke Park compared favourably to Lansdowne Road.
At the junction of Fitzgibbon Street and the North Circular Road, a group of young French supporters gathered in a circle, singing French songs and waving their tricolours aloft.
Alex Beadouin from Brittany, who had previously attended an Ireland-France soccer match in Lansdowne Road, said she thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere.
"I think you heard much more the Irish people than the French," she said.
Her friend JB Calvarin felt that the Irish were unfortunate to lose. "The atmosphere was absolutely brilliant when the Irish crowd was singing . . . the crowd just entertained themselves," he said.
Olivier Mantaulan, a French national who has been living in Ireland for four years, said the whole experience was "incredible". Having previously attended rugby matches in Lansdowne Road, he said yesterday illustrated the need for a bigger stadium for Irish rugby.
"I think it is just great to have rugby played in a GAA club," he said, "the noise was just brilliant and the French fans mix very well with the Irish. It was all good humoured."
Not everyone agreed, however. Brothers Patrick and John McGrattan from Dublin, who regularly attend GAA matches in the stadium, felt the noise levels from the crowd were more subdued than usual.
"It doesn't compare with the atmosphere at a GAA match," John said. "To be honest with you, I think maybe a lot of people were just there for the occasion."
Patrick said: "It was a bit subdued, the crowd were more detached from the match. Maybe the French felt more comfortable and are more used to playing regularly in front of that big a crowd."