Ireland coach Joe Schmidt made it clear that the decision making of referee Jaco Peyper, or lack thereof, impacted on this 10-9 defeat in Paris.
When it was suggested that France targeted Irish players, with Guilhelm Guirado’s high tackle on Dave Kearney and Yoann Maestri’s elbow to Johnny Sexton’s head not punished with yellow cards, Schmidt called on World Rugby’s referee manager Joël Jutge to examine certain incidents in the game.
“Those things aren’t really for me to say,” said Schmidt. “They are for the referee to look back at. Certainly I’d encourage the referee organiser [JUTGE]to look back.
"We had some very clear indications coming into the Six Nations about what would be tolerated and what wouldn't be, and the sanctions that would follow.
“Again, that’s entirely out of my gambit.
“It was pretty tough; we lost Dave Kearney in one of those incidents.
I think he has got an AC injury which will keep him out for some time.”
Ireland captain Rory Best spoke to Peyper about sin-binning French players but he was conscious not to avoid alienate the South African.
“At one stage we asked the question: ‘How many attacking penalties are we going to get without further sanction?’ and he said he would keep a close eye on it,” said Best. “I think there is a fine line between badgering a ref and keep that pressure on.
“The one on Johnny he said the TMO was happy it was just a penalty. The one on Dave Kearney, I think, you keep the pressure on...try to stay on the right side of him.
“But definitely every time we got a bit of momentum we felt the ball was killed on us.”
Other Irish injuries were Sean O’Brien’s upper hamstring and a Mike McCarthy concussion. The veteran lock was in some distress following a head clash and needed to be stretchered off the field.
Schmidt did not define Jonathan Sexton’s injury.
“Johnny knows what he is going to get when he comes here and he was prepared for it, he was pretty knocked around at the end of the game.
Mike McCarthy certainly appeared to suffer a concussion.”
Schmidt also lamented a missed try scoring opportunity, which he felt would have been awarded if Peyper adopted a different interpretation.
"We are hugely disappointed when you lead 9-3 for so long...There is obviously the try scored by Dave Kearney that the referee blew up early and therefore couldn't go to the TMO but it obviously rebounded off the midriff of Robbie Henshaw.
“That would of given us some separation on the scoreboard that could have helped.”
Instead Ireland found themselves mired in their own 22 as the French scrum came close to earning a penalty try before Maxime Medard’s match winning try.
“I think the players showed a ferocious will to impose our game on Ireland,” said Guy Noves. “I think the players won not the coaching.”
Noves described Medard’s try, when he slithered out Of Tommy O’Donnell’s clutches after the French scrum beasted Ireland under their posts, as “beautiful.”
“The scrum was pivotal for the victory. We expected a yellow card. A strong scrum is what allows the backs to score the try.”
“The players look like young, happy people. Some of them are losing their hair because they are working so hard. We feel like we have done our duty.”
Victory masks almost any flaw.
