France absorbed early setbacks including the loss of captain Antoine Dupont through injury to beat defending champions Ireland 42-27 at the Aviva Stadium and move into pole position for the Six Nations title on Saturday.
Dupont sustained a knee injury after half an hour, but Les Bleus overturned a 13-8 deficit with brutal force to top the table with 16 points, two ahead of Ireland, with third-placed England on 10
