Judging by the reaction of supporters to Ireland's herculean if flawed win over France, it wasn't quite the same edge-of-the-seat stuff for all of us, especially for those watching on the box. Maybe you had to be there

And maybe you had to be going there for quite some time to appreciate it.

For the time was when the prospect of an Irish win over the French was scarcely entertained. When even as mighty an effort as last Saturday would ultimately have petered out and the French would have come strong in the last 10 or 20 minutes.

Until Ireland's last two victories over the French in Lansdowne Road, les Bleus had won on seven successive visits. However, there's been quite a sea change since France's 10-9 win here in 1999. The provinces had already begun to turn the tide anyhow, Ulster having won the European Cup the week before. And since that day French sides have come to Ireland in either the European Cup or Shield/Challenge Cup on 19 occasions, winning only twice thanks to victories by Bourgoin and Toulouse in Ravenhill two and three seasons ago.

Any wonder therefore, that deep, deep down Ireland believed they would pull through when the match came down to the wire? All day the French had defended the Irish line-out maul better than any of their previous eight opponents. Yet when France came downfield at 12-15 with six minutes of normal time left, the Irish pack responded with their mightiest maul with each of the front-rowers and co driving low and hard form Alan Quinlan's take with every ounce of energy left in their bodies.

Similar reserves of strength accounted for their best scrum of the match when driving the French off a put-in soon after. The sheer desire and mental belief within the Irish team was undeniable.

Just as pertinently though, the long sequence of losing trips to Ireland has ebbed away at what once would have been a mental certainty within French teams that they would pull through. And it would be easy to point the fingers at the French kids, Dimitri Yachvili and Francois Gelez. Yet when the going got toughest, it was some of the older heads who lost it.

In conceding the penalty which enabled David Humprheys to make it 15-9, Christian Califano came in from the side of a ruck, didn't stay on his feet, and played the ball on the deck. Watson picked the second, but he had a choice of three.

For Humphreys' last penalty against the upright, Fabien Pelous blatantly charged into a ruck from the side under the nose of Watson. And the veteran captain was France's most capped player on Saturday. France cracked like they hadn't done in a long time under Bernard Laporte, though the French coach's extraordinary public outburst is hardly designed to further harmony in the camp.

This was Pelous' fourth successive visit to Lansdowne Road, and Califano's fifth. So, as important as the inner belief within the Irish teams which such sequences' generate, perhaps just as importantly it has sewed sufficient doubts in visiting French minds.

Such doubts mightn't exist in English minds three weeks' hence for what is shaping up to be simply the biggest game in the history of Lansdowne Road. First though, there's the Welsh. On a line through their respective showings in Murrayfield and Rome, Ireland would be about 32 to 38 point favourites on Saturday week. Of course, such simplistic mathematical formguides rarely apply. The most reliable Welsh yardstick to date is probably their sole effort in the Millennium Stadium, when their spirited performance against England could easily have been rewarded with a half-time lead.

Another reason why that effort might be a more accurate barometer of what Ireland can expect is that Jonathan Humphreys' is expected to return.

Wales' biggest failing in Edinburgh on Saturday was a lack of aggression in their tight five and the 34-year-old Humphreys, who plays with his heart on his sleeve, will assuredly galvanise a greater response from those around him.

More than a little rudderless, they might also be tempted to restore Gareth Llewellyn and in the process add to what is a limited line-out.

Andre Watson's performance on Saturday drew a decidedly mixed reaction, particularly his policing of the hindmost foot/offside line, as did his lack of assistance from Nigel Whitehouse and Steve Lander. In mitigation of Watson and his officials, his audio link failed even before the kick-off and never seemed to be reactivated.

The hand gesturing between Watson and Whitehouse for the delayed call on Gelez's crooked quick throw to Olivier Magne near the end was more suited to Cheltenham over the next four days. That he'd even looked to his touch judges was entirely down to the crowd's reaction, which underlines the value of home advantage.