Two Christophe Dominici tries and one from impressive debutant Benoit Baby were enough for a 26-19 triumph, despite a second-half score under the posts from Ireland captain Brian ODriscoll.

We were playing against a good team - we knew that before the game. Ireland are one of the best teams in the world, Laporte told BBC1.

We are a young team who are building. But I was very happy with our determination and spirit. It is very difficult to play here with this crowd and how they play.

France skipper Fabien Pelous became only the fifth player to reach a century of Test caps but the towering Toulouse lock was more animated by Les Bleus victory than his own personal milestone.

He said: Im very proud to have won 100 caps but Im more pleased about beating Ireland. Lansdowne Road is a hard place to come and win, so it is a special result.

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan admitted that the visitors deserved to collect the two points.

He said: They played particularly well in the first half; they were very strong and made us work hard. It was very frustrating, and they topped it off with two tries.

This French team have won two Grand Slams in three years. They are a formidable outfit - and they deserved to win.''