Once upon a time, Matthieu Jalibert made his debut for France. He played alongside Antoine Dupont at the Stade de France on that February day in 2018. Ireland players and supporters have fond memories of the occasion, especially one of Andy Farrell’s current coaching cadre, Johnny Sexton.
Sexton, Ireland’s captain, outhalf and, briefly, Jalibert’s counterpart that day, kicked a brilliant long-range drop goal after 41 phases in a nerve-shredding denouement, as they’d say locally, to nudge the visitors to a 15-13 victory. Ireland, then under head coach Joe Schmidt, went on to win the Grand Slam.
The television footage, a close-up of the bruised and bloodstained facial features of French captain and hooker Guilhem Guirado…