Ireland secure bonus point win over France in Dublin

Ireland 26-14 France, Aviva Stadium
Scorecard

Ireland have kept their hope of winning the Six Nations alive as they completed a 26-14 bonus point victory over France in the fourth round at Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

The win means Ireland now have 14 points from four games and will now need to beat Wales in the final round and hope for Scotland to beat England to have any chance of retaining the Six Nations title while France are at fifth place.

Ireland opened their account as early as in the fifth minute when Rory Best touched down at the back of a maul and Johnny Sexton slotted the conversion to take them to a 7-0 lead.

As France were hoping for a breakthrough, Ireland doubled their tally when Yoann Huget and Gael Fickou collided following which Sexton crossed over for a converted try to make it 14-0 and it became 19-0 before the break when Jack Conan powered over the try line in the 36th minute.

Jacques Brunel's men looked desperate as they tried to control the early stages of the second half but Ireland's defence managed to keep them off the hook. The home side went on to claim the bonus point when a set-piece move resulted in a try from Keith Earls in the 56th minute and Sexton's conversion took Ireland's tally to 26 points.

France had a couple of late consolation tries from Huget (77') and Camille Chat (80') but the damage was already done early in the game as they succumbed to a 12 point defeat.