Vincent Clerc broke Irish hearts with a last-gasp try that kept France on course to retain the RBS 6 Nations title and silenced the majority of the 81,000 crowd.

Ibanez denied the significance of the occasion had made the victory sweeter and insisted he was always confident France could snatch victory - even when there was just one minute left on the clock.

We were conscious of the history behind the match. We read history books all week and had a meeting when everything was explained to us, the Wasps hooker said.

We knew all about the history of Croke Park but the fact it was such a big event does not make the win more satisfying. Its just a game of rugby and now well see if we can go all the way.

Even when it looked like we had lost there was still hope in the French side. We still believed we could win the game.

Ireland conceded 13 points in the first 14 minutes as their scrum and lineout malfunctioned, with France forging clear through hooker Ibanez's well-worked try after David Skrela slotted two early penalties.

But Ronan O'Gara scored a sparkling try and landed four penalties as Ireland recovered brilliantly from an error-strewn opening quarter.

France, though, dug deep when it really mattered, Toulouse wing Clerc producing a devastating finish to stun Ireland at the death.

France coach Bernard Laporte showered his team with praise and was delighted to have secured victory over one of Les Bleus group opponents at the World Cup.

He said: Our spirit in forwards was brilliant. We stuck to our task well. Well take some valuable experience from this performance.

We beat Argentina in the autumn and Ireland today so now weve beaten two of our rivals in the World Cup group stages.