France beat Ireland 26-22 in World Cup warm-up

REUTERS - France outclassed Ireland for the second time in seven days with a convincing 26-22 win in a World Cup warm-up on Saturday, ending their preparations on a high and leaving Ireland with three losses in a row.

After a weak opening, France scored 26 unanswered points, including tries from fullback Cedric Heymans and flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc on either side of the interval. Scrum half Morgan Parra kicked 13 points.

Ireland dominated the first 20 minutes with a debut try from prop Cian Healy and a penalty from flyhalf Jonathan Sexton. They ended the match with two consolation tries in the last five minutes from Sexton and flanker Sean O’Brien, but the game was beyond them.

Ireland’s preparations were further dented when promising fullback Felix Jones, making his first start for Ireland, was carried off the pitch after injuring his leg.

France will go into the World Cup next month with two wins from two games despite resting several senior players, while Ireland will have to try to bounce back against England in the last of their four warm-up games next Saturday.