Ireland beat title holders France in Six Nations classic

Ireland took a giant step towards the Six Nations Grand Slam by beating title-holders France 32-19 in a pulsating encounter between the world's top two sides at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

The Irish secured a winning bonus point with four tries, with Andrew Porter scoring one on his 50th cap in what was a record 13th successive home Test victory.

France saw their dreams of a successive Grand Slam success dashed while their national record run of 14 consecutive Test victories came to an end.

The win also saw head coach Andy Farrell secure his first win over France since he took over after the 2019 World Cup.

"It was two great teams going at it with the French going for an unbeaten record and us going for the home record," Farrell told ITV.

"At the end of the day, it is a victory in a competition that we want to do well at."

France skipper Antoine Dupont admitted the team was dejected over the loss.

"For the moment, obviously, it's a lot of disappointment. We can see the result. They have the bonus point, we have no defensive bonus point," he said.

"We will have to recover and continue this tournament because it is not over. We know that a lot can happen."

France struck first with Thomas Ramos slotting over a penalty in the fifth minute.

The Irish stormed into the lead with a sublime try when prop Finlay Bealham sold a dummy pass to Conor Murray and fed fullback Hugo Keenan who burst through the French defence to touch down.

Irish skipper Johnny Sexton converted for 7-3 in the 10th minute.

The trusty boot of Ramos reduced the gap on the quarter-hour mark, converting a penalty for 7-6.

France then produced a dream try which began inside their own 22 before Anthony Jelonch passed to Damian Penaud, who brushed off Murray before running in