Questions abound after lost weekend

RUGBY: The mood among the Irish supporters on the trek home from Charles de Gaulle airport yesterday confirmed the abiding impression that rarely will a rugby visit to France provoke such muted reaction. A bit like the atmosphere at the game actually.

Thankfully, it wasn't the massacre it briefly threatened to be, but apart from a spell of about five minutes early in the second half, Ireland again didn't really discommode the French until the outcome had been decided.

A grey day at a grey bowl in a grey suburb - maybe it goes with the modernistic Stade de France in the St Denis suburb. The football World Cup final of 1998 was obviously a different matter but the Stade de France still doesn't really cut it. There were quite a few empty seats dotted around the uppermost tier, and the rendition of La Marseillaise was about the most passionless one can recall. Thereafter, it remained a strangely soulless afternoon.

The contest having been more-or-less decided by the hour mark, the Stade de France became bored. Only when resisting Ireland's concerted late push did the crowd sing their national anthem. Even Allez les Bleus was notable for its absence. Nor did the large band of travelling supporters ever equal the colour or singing of Melbourne.

Yet you couldn't but feel that after just one week's preparation France were typically rusty on day one of the championship and, as some Irish players admitted, were there for the taking.

With the French scrum and back row on top, it was remarkable to hear Bernard Laporte extol the virtues of the "enthusiastic" Jean-Baptiste Elissalde. The new scrumhalf's game was unsure and his passing slow and often high. Peter Stringer's service was a lesson to him.

Outside Elissalde, his Toulouse team-mate Frederic Michalak had a mixed bag of a day, not least with his kicking. Handling errors littered their game and with a few more weeks and matches under their belt, France would have taken more of the chances that came their way.

After their fourth try, it seemed they were mentally still in Heineken Cup mode, as if the bonus point had been tucked away, and Laporte emptied his bench more readily than did Eddie O'Sullivan. Indeed, it was in keeping with their clubs' minimalist performances in January, especially in Toulouse, content to play well in patches.

France, you sense, will undoubtedly improve during the course of this Six Nations. Will Ireland? Denied their three most potent outside backs, as well as Eric Miller and Marcus Horan, of the walking wounded only Brian O'Driscoll is considered likely to return for the pivotal meeting with a rejuvenated Wales next Sunday at Lansdowne Road. In beating Scotland 23-10 on Saturday, the Welsh outside backs looked a good deal sharper.

Even then, what kind of condition will O'Driscoll be in? Ireland's talisman certainly can't be match-honed after five weeks on the sidelines with a torn hamstring.

The player himself will be mustard keen to return, but if he does this also raises a selection problem for O'Sullivan in whether to include Gordon D'Arcy. The 24-year-old was Ireland's brightest back in Paris, the one most likely to create something out of nothing.

Given Girvan Dempsey manfully regained some of his confidence in a relatively secure performance, it seems unlikely O'Sullivan would risk D'Arcy at full back. But he'd be reluctant to omit Tyrone Howe or Shane Horgan either, or to switch Horgan back to his more favoured inside-centre role against Wales and thereby leave out Kevin Maggs.

Though no assessment will be made until today, Horan seems likely to be sidelined for another two or three weeks and the other alternatives mostly involve the tried and trusted, such as the back row and outhalf. The back row could do with an injection of ball-carrying dynamism, but then again, although there seemed, from the hour mark on, a compelling case to avail of Victor Costello's explosive power, he was left on the bench until the last four minutes. David Humphreys wasn't even used.

At least there were no notable injuries arising from Saturday. The official word yesterday was that John Hayes, whose X-ray on a bruised calf revealed nothing untoward, Anthony Horgan (bruised ribs), Keith Gleeson (dead leg) and Tyrone Howe (cramping) should all be fit for the Welsh game.

The 22 on duty in Paris were given little respite, and went back into camp last night, though the squad of 22 for the Welsh game will not be named till Wednesday.

There was speculation that the match citing commissioner, former Scottish lock Peter Brown, might cite Fabien Pelous for stamping on Malcolm O'Kelly's head, though the chances of this happening have possibly been reduced by the Irish lock's own version of the incident and by the Irish management's not formally bringing it to Brown's attention.

Writing in the Sunday Times, the Irish lock said that while he was on the ground "a boot came down on my head" and "it belonged to Fabien Pelous". But, added O'Kelly, "he's not a dirty player. He's a hard player but nobody could call him dirty and I think that it was a total accident."