So France has qualified for the quarter-finals, what now? In 1998, the French team was dreaming of conquering to the world. The realistic target now is simply to make the semi-final. Without key players and a game plan, the Tricolores stand to loose everything.
With Thomas Castaignede sidelined through injury, and Fabien Pelous and Christian Califano cited after the Fiji match and subsequently suspended, the omens appear ominous.
They are without a skipper and a game plan, and betrayed by a management that has lost perspective, dreaming of an idealistic game with players who are simply not ready for that.
"The method is good," says Pierre Villepreux, one of the management team. "The problem is the players don't know how to use it. There is a frustrating lack of acknowledgement that France must change with the times. The belief is there that you can play your rugby simply on the speed and the movement, because it looks beautiful."
Second row Fabien Pelous conceded after the Fiji match: "We haven't changed our lineout out plan for two years."
France should certainly produce a big performance and should win against a tired team that has had to play an extra game on the Wednesday. The visitors will be there by virtue of a fortunate draw which placed only Canada, Namibia and Fiji, rugby minnows, on the road to Dublin.
They have just about managed to negotiate that task. Losing to Ireland wouldn't come as a major surprise to the French people - but to Argentina, that's another matter. It will constitute a total failure and certainly the beginning of a big crisis for French rugby.
Defeat would signal the end for many: last game for the coaches, last game for the captain, last game for a few players. There will also be that empty sensation of a wasted opportunity.
It was possible to field a good French side for the World Cup but that opportunity was missed. The problems thrown up by the Five Nations were never addressed. Instead, the relied on the mantra that the game plan is good and will eventually come right.
There has been no consistency in selection, only a knee-jerk reaction to setbacks.
