Resist the easy allure of a second-half fightback in a match long decided.
Andy Farrell’s Six Nations is now a salvage operation, and Sam Prendergast is one of the components that survived this encounter with a fierce French force.
There were plenty eager to make Prendergast the patsy with less than 20 minutes gone, but their numbers surely dwindled as this young player refused to wilt.
His critics will too easily overlook all the Irish missed tackles, the tactic of putting up kick after kick even as France won every one of them, the home team’s ferocious line-speed, and a scrum clinging on for dear life.
That’s been Prendergast’s lot in his 15 months as a Test rugby player so far, but in the avalanche of problems that swept Ireland away, Prendergast wasn’t one.
Sam Prendergast of Ireland after the Guinness 6 Nations Rugby Championship match between France and Ireland at Stade de France in Paris,
His display was in keeping with his time in the Irish shirt so far, with sublime moments checked at times by impulsive ones.
His decision to fly-hack a French kick to prevent it going out for a 50-22, and so an attacking lineout in the Irish red zone, was inches away from being inspired.
The ball stayed in and the move ended with France’s opening try — but only after missed tackles and defensive misreads by his team-mates.
He was then at the scene of the crime for his opposite number’s try, but Matthieu Jalibert profited from an initial failure to stop Antoine Dupont, followed by Tommy O’Brien getting marooned in defence.
But it’s telling that analysis of Ireland’s out-half takes on the terms of a trial. His prosecutors will proffer tenuous evidence to make their case, and they were gleefully lodging papers as this match degenerated into humiliation.
Yet along with his brother Cian, whose lineout prowess and defensive obduracy were a Peter O’Mahony throwback convincing enough to make his place secure for the coming weeks, the No10 was responsible for the few consolations Ireland managed in the game.
There were times when it was clear to see why he is Farrell’s preferred playmaker.
He can call on skills none of his competitors can, as he showed with a perfectly judged cross-kick for Tommy O’Brien, and in the way he takes the ball right up to the line before looping passes away off left and right.
He wore a long black-sleeved base-layer underneath his jersey, the only Irish player to do so (and another charge to be added to the case against him, presumably).
He started the match with a kick-off deep into the French 22, and from then on it was a night of unending stress for him and for all of his team-mates.
It meant Jamison Gibson-Park and Prendergast would spend most of the night unable to conjure meaningful attacks.
Baptiste Serin runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Jamison Gibson-Park during the Guinness Six Nations 2026 match between France and Ireland at Stade de France
Prendergast did produce one nice step inside a tackle on a rare Irish foray into the French 22, but his off-load was misread by Josh van der Flier, whose mind was on hitting a ruck rather than taking the pass.
Irish attacking intent was instead attached to the fusillade of box kicks dispatched by Gibson-Park. It was a tactic greedily accepted by France’s outstanding back three, yet Ireland persisted, in the absence of an alternative.
With one team suffering this badly, another is profiting accordingly, and Prendergast’s opposite number had a fine time of it.
There have long been rumours of an awkward relationship between Dupont and Jalibert, with France’s scrum-half maestro happier playing alongside his Toulouse team-mate Romain Ntamack.
Antoine Dupont of France looks on during the Guinness Six Nations 2026 match between France and Ireland at Stade de France
With the latter injured, Jalibert was paired with Dupont for the 13th time, the cause of much debate in the build-up.
If they really do have a testy working arrangement, this match was like a real-time therapy session.
As they worked out their issues, the problems mounted for Farrell and Ireland. There will be demands for wholesale change for the Italy game after this, but the truth is this hiding has been coming for a year.
An ageing team, a coach’s preference for the established over the untested, the Lions tour folly and a wretched run of injuries all fed into this chaos.
The mess won’t be easily unpicked, but recognising the slivers of treasure among this torrent of sludge will be a part of Farrell’s week.
He made four changes with 30 minutes to play, but Jack Crowley’s introduction was for Tommy O’Brien, with Jamie Osborne moving to the wing and the Munster player to full back.
Sam Prendergast of Ireland during the Guinness 6 Nations Rugby Championship match between France and Ireland at Stade de France in Paris, France.
Prendergast stayed on, and produced some wonderful passes, as well as one that was almost intercepted, true again to the wild oscillations that have been the hallmark of his Irish career to this point.
His imprint was on tries for Nick Timoney and Michael Milne, though, and he ended the night in credit.
Andy Farrell has a fearsome list of problems to address, not merely in the coming days but for the months ahead.
The out-half decision isn’t one of them.