France 25 - 27 Ireland
Saturday 18th March 2000
Stade de France, Paris
The Millennium year witnessed the birth of a new superstar in the Irish sports arena. Until his outstanding individual performance in the game against France in Paris, Brian O'Driscoll was just another of the legion of young Irish players with scruffy potential and a big reputation. After a stunning hat-trick that left the French chasing shadows, 'Drico' became an instant sports star of the new Millennium.
Expectations among the Irish public had been quite low that year. Fans travelled in hope rather than any kind of optimism to the Stade de France to face a strong French side. Ireland had a miserable record in Paris until O'Driscoll's performance that day ended 28 years of defeats on French soil.
The Irish performance up to the point of O'Driscoll's first try was typical of so many which had gone before — all graft, no style. However O'Driscoll provided the cutting-edge away from home and helped to boost confidence among the Irish players for the successful campaigns which followed in subsequent years.
