France took a huge stride towards Six Nations glory, following a 42-27 victory over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.

Louis Bielle-Biarrey crossed twice, while Paul Boudehent, Oscar Jegou and Damian Penaud also crossed for the visitors, while Thomas Ramos kicked a further 17 points as they displaced their hosts at the top of the table with a bonus-point win.

While Ireland's hopes of sealing an unprecedented third straight Six Nations title were severely dented, a victory over Scotland next weekend would see France secure the championship on home soil.

Although Antoine Dupont saw a try disallowed - before limping off injured in the 30th minute - with Joe McCarthy sin-binned, Les Bleus capitalised on their numerical advantage with Bielle-Biarrey going over.

Dupont limped off injured after 30 minutes, and Sam Prendergast kept Ireland in touch from the tee before Dan Sheehan crossed in the corner early in the second half to put his side 13-8 to the good.

However, France responded immediately as Boudehent powered over, while Bielle-Biarrey stretched the lead by chasing his own punt from the left and touching down.

The visitors' power paid dividends again, with replacement Jegou going over to secure the bonus point, while Ramos intercepted late on and broke away before releasing Penaud to put the icing on the cake as they scored 34 unanswered points.

Ireland finished strongly with Cian Healy crossing in his final home Test, while Jack Conan went over in the dying seconds of his 50th cap, but it was too late to salvage their Grand Slam hopes.

France produce a massive second half to claim victory in Dublin against Ireland! They leave Dublin with a bonus point victory!#GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/0RQ78B8P3K

— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 8, 2025

Data Debrief: Penaud equals Blanco record as Ramos closes in on Michalak

France's championship hopes were boosted by the exploits of Bielle-Biarrey, who was a try scorer in a seventh successive Test for his nation.

He has also now been directly involved in 10 Six Nations tries this year (six tries, four assists), the first player ever to reach double figures in a single edition of the men's Championship. His six tries are also the most by any French player in a single edition.

Penaud rounded off the victory to become his nation's joint all-time leading try scorer, moving level with Serge Blanco on 38.

Meanwhile, Ramos' 17 points moved him within seven of breaking Frederic Michalak's record tally of 436, which he may achieve against Scotland next Saturday.