Galthié’s gamble with lopsided bench pays off for France as Ireland unravel | Andy Bull

Team’s replacement forwards made the difference with the champions unable to cope with their power and speedFor this weekend at least, Dublin has a French quarter. By the time the final whistle went at the Aviva Stadium, the thousands of French fans inside, outside and all around the ground were cheering, screaming, roaring, singing, dancing, in celebration of one of the great victories.They had travelled in huge numbers and been rewarded with five tries and 42 points, a record score for them in this city, revenge in plenty for the 21-point thrashing by Ireland in Marseille last year. France are favourites for the championship now and the Irish are squaring up to the kind of existential hangover you get by being so completely beaten in a match that had so much riding on it.The game will take some unpicking

Fabien Galthié fears Antoine Dupont suffered ‘serious’ injury against Ireland

France may have claimed a famous 42-27 victory, but in the moments after the match Fabien Galthié was too furious about the injury suffered by Antoine Dupont to take great pleasure in his side’s win over Ireland.Dupont was forced off the pitch in the 30th minute after Tadhg Beirne collapsed on to his knee while attempting a clear-out. Galthié described the incident as “reprehensible”, and has highlighted the actions of Beirne and Calvin Nash, who received a 20-minute red card for a high tackle on Pierre-Louis Barassi, in his post-match report to the citing commissioner.“There is a suspicion of a quite serious knee injury to Antoine,” Galthié said. “He is suffering and we are suffering with him

Scotland produce performance of extremes but survive Wales fightback

All of Scotland’s brilliance, all their familiar failings. It cannot be denied, they have once again underscored their status as second only to France as an attacking force. But even with a 27-point cushion midway through the second half, they contrived to make life uncomfortable for themselves against a clearly inferior side. But for Blair Murray’s unfortunate little leap into a tackle a few minutes from the end, they might even have lost.Wales managed to rouse themselves from a hopeless position to claim two bonus points, when Max Llewellyn crashed over to score their fourth at the death

All the ingredients but no signature dish: England’s attack seeks sizzle

The England squad went to cookery school during their training camp in York this week. They were given all the ingredients to make a steak dinner and let loose in the kitchen. Some followed the recipe to the letter, others made things up as they went along and it is not too much of a stretch to imagine Marcus Smith finding time to whip up a quick souffle in front of a disapproving Steve Borthwick.As metaphors for England’s attack go you could do a lot worse. England have all the ingredients but are yet to produce a signature dish in this Six Nations

France take Six Nations title race to the wire with thumping win over Ireland

This was not just a game of two halves, it was a story of two games. In the first you were counting yourself lucky to be witnessing an utterly compelling Test match where, for a change, the atmosphere in the crowd complemented the action on the field. In the second – specifically the last 33 minutes – France nipped into the pits and came out with new tyres and a tank full of turbo juice. And that was that.The modern version of France has the capacity to play like the best team in the world

Cheltenham festival at crossroads five years after infamous Covid meeting

Jump racing’s ‘Olympics’ ring changes after steep decline in ticket sales and some fans preferring flight to BenidormFive years on from an other-worldly Cheltenham festival which unfolded in the shadow of Covid-19, in front of packed stands that would soon become emblematic of the country’s hesitant stumble into lockdown, one of Britain’s most popular sporting events once again finds itself at a crossroads, after sharp declines in attendance in the last two years.It is not a lingering hangover from the pandemic, or the result of racegoers losing the festival habit in 2021, when the meeting was staged behind closed doors. Far from it. The first post-covid festival with full attendance in 2022 attracted record crowds throughout the week to post a new high for the four days of nearly 281,000 racegoers.But for a significant number of those spectators, there was something about the festival in 2022 that persuaded them not to repeat the experience