Cardiff: Sean O’Brien inspired Ireland to a pulsating 24-9 win over France in their Pool D taqble-topping decider on Sunday that condemned the French to a quarter-final against defending champions New Zealand.
Ireland now take on Argentina in the last eight, but suffered a massive blow with injuries to Jonny Sexton, captain Paul O’Connell and Peter O’Mahony.
O’Brien was a lion in the loose and smothered the French game.
But he could be in trouble as television images showed a possible punch on French lock Pascal Pape early in the game.
The French must be more worried now though about preparing for a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final the All Blacks won by a single point.
On the plus side it comes at the same Millennium Stadium where they stunned the All Blacks at the quarter-final stage in the 2007 World Cup.
“We had great players who went off and the lads stepped up to the mark,” said Ireland’s No. 8 Jamie Heaslip.
“We went the full 80 (minutes), we knew it was going to be a physical game. We made that commitment to each other and we are just delighted with the win.”
Playmaker Sexton kicked two early penalties for the Irish before going off. His replacement Ian Madigan kicked a penalty of his own and Scott Spedding booted two long-range efforts for France at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
The Six Nations champions scored two second-half tries through Rob Kearney and Connor Murray, Madigan adding a conversion and late penalty. France’s sole points in the second period came from a Morgan Parra penalty.
Two well-drilled defensive lines that failed to panic in the face of firestorm attacks meant any show of ill-discipline was critical.
Frederic Michalak scuffed a first penalty attempt in the sixth minute, almost rectified when Ireland were penalised for collapsing a scrum, the South African-born Spedding seeing his 48-metre kick come back off the post.
Sexton made no mistake with a 12th-minute penalty to open the score after Mathieu Bastareaud was ajudged to have strayed offside.
Spedding drew France level with a long-range effort before Sexton booted his second penalty.
Discipline proved to be key and when O’Mahony went high on Guilhem Guirado, Spedding nailed a monster penalty from 51 metres to make it 6-6 after 22 minutes.
Worringly for Ireland, Sexton was on the end of two ferocious tackles in the first quarter. The second bone-cruncher from revived No 8 Louis Picamoles resulted in the fly-half limping off to be replaced by Madigan.
The newcomer immediately calmed Irish nerves with a penalty of his own after Pape tackled Tommy Bowe without the ball and then orchestrated a fine midfield move.
Bowe scorched through on a reverse ball and perfectly played out the two-on-one in front of him. But Keith Earls was unable to hold on to the ball with the line beckoning. A clear missed opportunity for Ireland in the face of France’s Thierry Dusautoir-led teak-tough defence.
There was more bad news for Ireland as Toulon-bound skipper O’Connell was given oxygen as he was stretchered off after injuring his knee in a previous ruck.
Ireland opened the second period keen to convert their first-half domination of territory and possession into points.
Centre Robbie Henshaw became more and more influential as the game wore on, managing to split the French defence to set up a scrum in the corner.
Bowe charged and from a series of pick and go’s, the ball was worked right to Rob Kearney who rode Michalak’s half-hearted tackle to dot down, Madigan failing with the conversion.
Momentum was with the men in green, Iain Henderson dropping the ball as they pressed relentlessly in their search for a second try, the French defence looking increasingly ragged.
Replacement scrum-half Parra pulled back three points for France but Ireland had not finished, Murray touching the base of the post for their second try after another O’Brien drive for the line.
Dusautoir said France had failed to take their chances. “Next week there is a big challenge waiting for us,” he said of the quarter final.
“But we are going to look at what was not 100 percent today and go into the next match with a lot of appetite.”
