Heaslip quick to find his groove

Jamie Heaslip spent most of Saturday afternoon trying to catch his breath, from craving a second wind during the pre-match warm-up to the first 15 minutes on the firm Stade de France pitch.

He was desperate to adapt to the pace of a match to which he feared he might not acclimatise, caught in a video perpetually on fast forward mode.

Irish rugby history is littered with players who could empathise on just how discommoding it is when making your rugby bones in Paris for the first time. This may have been his third cap but it was his first start in the Six Nations and nothing really prepares a young player for the honours syllabus in temperament.

He acquitted himself superbly, relishing the naked physicality of the forward collisions and providing Ireland with consistent go-forward ball. He might have cavilled that he didn't get enough ball in hand opportunities but on the occasions he did, he offered a reminder of his prodigious ability; one that is likely to be honed in the green jersey as much as the blue of Leinster.

The Irish pack excelled as a unit, individually and collectively, particularly in the second half but only the outstanding John Hayes, who arguably enjoyed his best game for Ireland, rivalled Heaslip as Ireland's best forward.

Personal plaudits were furthest from the Ireland number eight's thoughts as he considered what might have been.

"The first 20 minutes was very quick and I was sucking some big breaths in. I remember looking up at the clock and there was only 10 or 15 minutes gone and thinking 'wow'. After that I was in my groove.

"The ball stayed in play a lot and any game where that's the case you'll find it hard to catch your breath. It was good, I really enjoyed it. but after that I felt I could play another 10 or 20 minutes at the end of the game: it was a bit of a weird one.

"I'm obviously delighted to be out there but we didn't get the win which is annoying. It was frustrating, they got one or two tries that were opportunistic, from turnovers and were lucky with that try they got at the end with the block down.

"We were just trying to stay focused, keep each other going and keep the belief. We spoke about keeping the ball, not giving away any penalties and trying to keep them in their half. We had them under the pump for a lot of the game in general.

"I don't think we played badly; two or three turnovers and they punished us. That happens quickly at this level. Fair play to everyone especially the subs that came on; we stuck at it and brought them all the way to the end. They looked pretty tired. It was a good old performance from the whole squad."

France had not conceded a penalty try for some 133 matches dating back to a game against Argentina in 1996 but Heaslip, albeit smiling, had no doubt referee Nigel Owens' decision was the correct one.

"I knew we had them under pressure. I don't know how many times they collapsed it but it (the penalty try) had to come because we were pushing them back consistently. We had all the go-forward at that stage. Of course I am going to say that it was the right decision.

"In terms of the scrum in general I wasn't having any problems at the back. The lads in my eyes had control over the scrum. When we got a bit of go-forward with that penalty try that gave us the edge to keep pushing forward and Wally (David Wallace) profited after that to get the second.

"We didn't get the bounce of the ball out there. That one (Cedric Heymans try) off the scrum; well myself and Wally looked at each other when we were under the posts and just went like 'what happened there?'. No one did their job wrongly. Heymans just got the bounce of the ball and was gone.

"It's a little bit hard for me to say if it is a turning point. It was a good performance. I think everyone went out there and gave the best they had; a few other teams in that situation might have gone out the gate."

There are better days ahead for the player and the Ireland team but for now Heaslip might content himself with the following appraisal of his performance from outhalf Ronan O'Gara. "Jamie was energetic. He grew really well into the game. He was talkative and vocal, and that's really impressive out of a young player. He featured big-time there today."

There's more to come.