1706: As Ireland begin their inquest as to what happened today, I'm going to sign off. Thank you very much for your company today and this weekend. The Red Button rugby forum is currently at the top of this page and on the er... Red Button. Keep an eye on the BBC website this evening for all the reaction. In two weeks time we'll do this all again for England v France, Italy v Wales and Scotland v Ireland. Can't wait. Until then, take it easy.

1702: Ireland will be kicking themselves after that, it was the one that got away. They outscored France three tries to one but are still on the losing side. The penalty count really cost them dear. That game between England and France at Twickenham on 26 February is now officially massive.

Ireland skipper Brian O'Driscoll: "We are disappointed. We gave ourselves a chance to win the game and we did not take it. We are going in the right direction but we are hurting ourselves in certain situations with individual errors and careless turnovers."

1656: France skipper Dusautoir is interviewed on the telly, the look of relief on his face tells its own story. Lievremont's men were much worse than last week, Ireland much better - but the result is the only thing that matters.

France number eight Imanol Harinordoquy: "It is very hard to win here. There is a lot of passion in the Ireland team. In the end we could win or lose. It was very hard. We are very proud of this victory."

Former Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies on BBC One: "I feel France are playing in second gear - there's no passion or intensity in their game but yet they still manage to win games. On that last moment for Ireland, why is a hooker [Cronin] standing in that place? Just get out of the way."

Former Ireland captain Keith Wood on BBC One: "I'm wholly disappointed, Ireland tried an awful lot and were positive but there were too many unforced errors, too many knock-ons. Ireland played pretty well but there were no stand-out players, and that's a problem. France were arrogant today."

DanGregs on Twitter: "That has just set up what will be an incredible game at Twickenham in two weeks."

80 mins: France have a scrum near their posts that keeps being reset. The clock runs down and the ball is booted out. France have got away with that one.

80 mins: Incredible scenes. Ireland go left. Keith Earls kicks on, the ball bobbles inside the French 22. Medard tries to get back, but he can't collect it. France in all sorts of trouble. Ireland have got men over and France are scrambling. The ball goes to Cronin... and now he knocks on, five metres from the French line! That's was Ireland's chance to win this game and they have blown it. O'Connell off, Cullen on.

78 mins: France still in possession and they get into Ireland's half. They are winding down the clock. Here's Chabal... and he tries a ridiculous pass which hands the ball back to Ireland. Terrible. Ireland have one last chance now as they counter. Drama.

76 mins: O'Gara does find touch the second time but just when Ireland need a solid line-out, they make a right mess of it. Rory Best's throw is not good and France win possession again. Best is substituted, Sean Cronin comes on.

74 mins: Ireland win a penalty at a scrum on their own 22 but O'Gara fails to find touch. Harinordoquy well, I don't know what he does, somehow knocks the ball on as he falls to the floor trying to collect it. Thion then picks it up from an offside position. Penalty. Brilliant. "If an Under-11 did that, you would clip him," says Moore. So two penalties in a row take Ireland from deep inside their own half to inside France's 22.

72 mins: Here come France now and they are looking to attack down the right. Aurelien Rougerie has Yoann Huget outside him but the pass is right at the winger's shoulder and goes dead. That mistake was all down to O'Driscoll, who produces a thumping tackle on Rougerie just as he was about to release the ball. No wonder BOD requires smelling salts. Yannick Jauzion replaces Traille.

71 mins: O'Leary leaves the stage to be replaced by Leinster number nine Eoin Reddan.

68 mins: IRELAND 22-25 FRANCE Ireland batter the French line. D'Arcy tries to jink his way through but is brought down just short. Ireland go again. O'Gara tries to kick through, it's a miss-kick, the ball is loose before it is spun to Heaslip who dives over in the corner. The video referee says it is OK. But did O'Gara miss that kick completely? If he did it's a knock-on. Doesn't matter now, the try is awarded. O'Gara nails the conversion. Game. On.

65 mins: O'Gara shows why he was brought on, to get Ireland out of their own half and to put pressure on France. The Munsterman drills a kick into touch deep in France territory. That's more like it. The Irish crowd wake up and try to lift their team. France line-out... they make a mess of it and Ireland have the ball near the French line. Big moment.

63 mins: What a kick from Yachvili. That penalty was right on the touchline but the Biarritz half-back nails it. Ronan O'Gara on for Sexton. For France, Jerome Thion comes on for Pierre.

62 mins: More pressure from France, they have the upper hand. That try has knocked the stuffing out of Ireland at the moment. Rory Best joins a ruck from the side and it's another penalty for France. Referee Dave Pearson warns O'Driscoll that someone will be seeing a yellow card very soon.

60 mins: Another penalty for France. It was conceded at scrum time, not a clue what it was for I'm afraid. As the strains of La Marseillaise can be heard, Yachvili takes the penalty from distance but it does not hit the target. A let off for Ireland. Nervy times.

58 mins: Well, well. That was a big error from D'Arcy and a big tackle to miss. Loose-head prop Cian Healy comes off for Tom Court, while Keith Wood calls for Kidney to change the half-backs as he wants Ireland to up the tempo. France, by the way, have had 68% possession in the second half so far.

55 mins: IRELAND 15-22 FRANCE Bosh. From a scrum on halfway, the ball moves right. Rougerie is the third receiver and runs straight and hard at Gordon D'Arcy. The Leinster centre is not up to the job, Rougerie runs over him and finds himself in oceans of space. He plays in Maxime Medard and the Toulouse wing has the easy task of scoring the try. Yachvili converts. Didn't see that one coming.

54 mins: More subs for France: Sebastien Chabal and Dimitri Yachvili on, Julien Bonnaire and Morgan Parra off. Chabal goes to number eight, Harinordoquy moves to the open-side.

53 mins: The Ireland attack is snuffed out when France bundle the ball carrier into touch. Now France can get out of their own half. The immediate danger is over for them. Still can't pick a winner.

51 mins: Sloppy from France. France have the ball in their own 22 but lock Pierre is the first receiver and he drops it. Poor. "Ireland look so much sharper," says Moore. O'Driscoll can continue, by the way. France subs: Thomas Domingo and Clement Poitrenaud off, Sylvain Marconnet and Vincent Clerc on.

50 mins: Wallop. Parra gives the ball a thwack from halfway and it drops over the bar. We are level in Dublin. O'Driscoll is wincing as the physio looks at his shoulder. Hope it's not too serious.

48 mins: Ball on halfway, France in possession. They are not going anywhere really when Paul O'Connell is penalised for not rolling away after tackling Thierry Dusautoir. Right in the middle of the pile is Brian O'Driscoll. The Irish talisman requires a bit of treatment but seems OK.

46 mins: Mooro is not happy. Parra is penalised for lazily rolling the ball crookedly into a French scrum with one hand. "Unbelievable. Unbelievable," Moore exclaims. I know Brian, I know.

45 mins: Ireland scrum underneath their own posts and France concede the free-kick. Heaslip taps and goes and here's Ireland on the move. They then get the penalty as Traille lies all over the ball at a ruck.

43 mins: France try to punch their way through the Irish defence. There's Francois Trinh-Duc in the pocket, the drop-goal attempt is coming... oh, great work by Sean O'Brien, who is out of the blocks quickly to get enough of a touch on the ball to divert it away from the posts.

41 mins: There's a bit of aerial ping-pong and it's Luke Fitzgerald with the mistake, booting the ball out on the full. France have a line-out near the Irish 22.

41 mins: Traille gets things going again. And the ball does go 10 metres.

1554: France are out already, Ireland keep them waiting. We are set to go again. Hold on to your hats...

Former England skipper Will Carling on Twitter: "Far better first half by Ireland. Are their forwards strong enough to survive the inevitable French onslaught in the second half?"

Ali_Grange on Twitter: "Fantastic 40 minutes in Dublin. Irish forwards explosive in the French 22."

BBC rugby pundit Jonathan Davies: "If Ireland maintain this, they will win. They can't slacken off."

Former Ireland skipper Phillip Matthews: "France are there for the taking. Ireland are probably a bit surprised that it has been so easy for them. They just have to cut out the errors."

1544: Well, that's more like it. That 40 minutes ebbed and flowed with Ireland, France and then Ireland again having the momentum. Dare pick a winner? Thought not.

38 mins: From the Ireland line-out, the home side lay siege to the French line. There's a massive overlap down in the left corner but Sexton takes it into contact around two metres from the French line. France are scrambling to get there in time and O'Leary picks the ball up to barge his way over. There are a pile of bodies around him, though, and it is only given when the video ref has a look. Sexton shanks his conversion.

37 mins: And here's another penalty for Ireland, Harinordoquy is a little isolated as he takes the ball into contact on halfway. He doesn't release and Sexton can boot the ball near the France corner... and he does. What a kick. The Lansdowne Road... sorry Aviva Stadium faithful erupt.

34 mins: What a change there has been in this game. It's all France now and it's Ireland's turn to work in defence. They have a respite, though, when lock Julien Pierre is deemed offside at a ruck.

30 mins: France have their gander up. Poitrenaud is flying down the right wing, he chips the ball forward but it goes into touch right by the corner flag.

BBC co-commentator Brian Moore: "France have not really created anything but they find themselves in the lead because Ireland have gifted them four penalties."

28 mins: Again poor discipline from Ireland. Donncha O'Callaghan finds himself the wrong side of a ruck after making a tackle, he does not roll away and the obvious penalty is given. Silly, silly, silly. Co-commentator Brian Moore laments that in the old days, Donncha would have got a right old shoeing for lying on the wrong side. Parra bangs over the penalty. France lead for the first time.

26 mins: Sloppy work from France and effective work from Ireland at the breakdown as the Irish claim possession on the floor. The home side get to half way but O'Leary's kick is aimless and goes straight out in touch. He raises his hand in apology, and well he might. That was a waste.

Pebs10 on Twitter: "This is the championship decider for me. The winner of this match will get a massive boost from this contest."

22 mins: Clermont centre Aurelien Rougerie expertly collects a high ball on halfway and launches a France counter. O'Leary is penalised for not rolling away from a tackle and that man Parra steps up to fire over his third penalty. France are back in this, and make no mistake.

18 mins: No dramas for Parra as the kick finds it's target. France are gaining in confidence now and look to be regaining their composure.

18 mins: France go through the gears and Poitrenaud comes into the line. He is well tackled and Irish prop Cian Healy snaffles the ball back for the hosts. Fine work. However, a pass from O'Leary goes behind McFadden as Ireland go wide and they concede a penalty at the breakdown.

16 mins: Easy isn't it? Sexton drills his attempt through the uprights. Ireland's seven-point cushion is restored.

16 mins: One-nil to the Irish front row. The French scrum is pulled to the floor. Penalty Ireland. Sexton with the kick.

12 mins: Morgan Parra is the man to take the kick and he lobs a six iron up into the air. He looks like he has pulled it right but the ball swerves left and through the posts. France are on the scoreboard.

10 mins: Welcome to the match. France finally get out of their half and are probing in and around the Irish 22. They can't get any closer to the line than that, though. The ball is slow and Ireland's defence is strong. Hang on, there's a penalty. Open-side David Wallace is pinged for not releasing the tackled player.

7 mins: France are all over the show. Damien Traille makes an absolute horlicks of the re-start. It is so poor that the ball hardly crosses the halfway line. They need to get themselves together. And quickly.

5 mins: IRELAND 7-0 FRANCE That was coming. From the French scrum, Clement Poitrenaud knocks the ball on and Ireland came come again. Wing Fergus McFadden finds a small gap and dives over from close range. Totally deserved. Sexton converts.

3 mins: Wave upon wave of Irish attacks from that line-out. France haven't touched the ball apart from that first moment. Ireland inch closer to the line, the ball comes left, Gordon D'Arcy passes to full-back Luke Fitzgerald who dives over for the try in the corner. It's not given tough, that pass was forward.

1 min: Good start Ireland. Fly-half Jonathan Sexton gets things going and the Irish chase is good, bundling the French catcher into touch.

1501: I have the feeling that I sang those anthems a little too loudly for a professional office. Here we go...

GW1992 on Twitter: "Would love Ireland to win today from a English point of view but honestly can't see it happening."

Sjbench222 on Twitter: "In previous years, France v Ireland would have been a tight game, but with the way Ireland are underperforming, it's a France win."

1455: There's a perfectly observed minute's silence for the victims of this week's plane crash in Cork. Now the anthems.

Former Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies on BBC One: "If Ireland don't turn over ball and give France chances, then the frustration will creep into France's game."

Former Ireland captain Keith Wood on BBC One: "Ireland need to stay in touch for 15-20 minutes of the match. If France score quickly, I think Ireland will struggle."

1449: France emerge from the tunnel. Quite a few cheers for the visitors. There's a significant French contingent here. Now Brian O'Driscoll leads out his side. The Aviva Stadium turns green as the fans wave their flags with vigour. Bouncy atmosphere. Meanwhile, Wood says that this Ireland team have around six/nine months left in them. Thoughts?

NGReeves on Twitter: "As an England fan, I'd much rather be facing the French at Twickenham as a Grand Slam decider than Ireland in Dublin."

jasondphare on Twitter: "Is cheering for the French today, apologies to the Irish. French win on the cards."

1443: Keith Wood is chatting about the return of Heaslip, who has been out since December with an ankle injury. Really looking forward to his battle with Imanol Harinordoquy today. "Jamie is a very fine leader," says Wood. "He has huge energy and is very positive." The pundits are also speculating about the match fitness of O'Leary, as he is gingerly warming up on the field and does not look to be moving freely. However, it is confirmed that the Munster number nine will start.

1440: Lievremont has been forced into changes after centre Maxime Mermoz dislocated his shoulder again Scotland. Toulouse's Clement Poitrenaud is brought in at full-back, with Damien Traille of Biarritz moving from 15 to 12. Centre Yannick Jauzion and prop Sylvain Marconnet are named on the bench.

1436: BBC pundits are giving their thoughts on this match, the first Six Nations game to be held at the brand new Aviva Stadium. Jonathan Davies is going for a France win today. "As it's World Cup year, they will be focused," he says. Keith Wood is not sure. "Either it will be huge win for France or a scrappy win for Ireland, and I know which one I would like to see."

Anon via text: "Eddie O'Sullivan took a load of flak for sticking with the same team time and again. Injuries playing a part this time but surely also a case of there simply not being enough strength in depth to this Irish team?"

MattB_UK on Twitter: "Focusing on the most important match of the weekend: COME ON IRELAND!!! Hoping the 'other' France turn up today... "

1433: Meanwhile on the telly, presenter John Inverdale is being serenaded by some Frenchmen. Which is nice. That's my way of saying that coverage has started on BBC One.

1431: And so to France then. Marc Lievremont's men produced a stylish display against Scotland as they buried the 59-16 Australian autumn horror show to kick off with a 34-21 victory in Paris. The French dominated their opponents up front but missed a total of 25 tackles. Ouch. Coach Marc Lievremont says he wants more from his side today. "I'm very happy with the performance of the backs. It was far from the perfect match but I like the solidarity shown during the game."

1427: Kidney has backed his men by keeping the vast majority of them for this game, and here he explains why. "I wasn't satisfied with the way we played against Italy. We can play a lot better," he said. "But the players performed in such a way that meant they deserved another go. Sometimes you need to back your players and after the way they went about their business, that's what I'm doing. There were times last week when we offloaded to people who weren't in better positions than the ball carrier. The co-ordination between combinations takes time to bed in and that's why we've gone with the same team."

VivaEspritEvent on Twitter: "Really hope Declan Kidney inspires Ireland to produce a winning performance today to set up final day humdinger with England."

1423: Team news: Ireland coach Declan Kidney has had a host of injuries to contend with at the start of this Six Nations, wing Tommy Bowe, flanker Stephen Ferris, hooker Jerry Flannery, full-back Geordan Murphy, wing Andrew Trimble and full-back Rob Kearney just some of those in the casualty ward. Scrum-half Tomas O'Leary is fit after struggling with a stiff back and despite his side getting a savaging from the Irish press during the week, Kidney has made only one change from the XV that played in Rome - the fit-again Jamie Heaslip coming in at number eight with Sean O'Brien, who was man-of-the-match against Italy on his debut, moving to the blind-side and Denis Leamy dropping to the bench. This team owe Kidney a performance. Discuss.

dwiddick on Twitter: "France to win, narrow margin."

1418: Ireland will be desperate today to erase the memory of that stodgy display in Rome last week, scraping past Italy 13-11 thanks to Ronan O'Gara's late drop-goal. Error-strewn is one adjective that could be used to describe that performance. Sloppy could be another. Interesting comments from Irish second row colossus Paul O'Connell in the papers this morning. "We would have fancied ourselves to have done a bit better last week," he said. "I'm not sure if it was pressure that made us make those mistakes. It was a bizarre kind of day. It was probably a case of trying too hard. We've just got to be accurate, do the simple things well and not give the ball away easily. If we can eradicate those errors, then we know what we have to do to kick on."

Jon Dawkins on Twitter: "Ireland vs France will hopefully be a classic today."

1412: So where can you watch this late winter/early spring ding dong then? Well, telly coverage begins on BBC One at 1430 GMT, while you can also listen to commentary on BBC Radio 5 live. There's also commentary options such as ref link on the Red Button and in the console at the top of this page. Oh, and there's also this live text commentary. Sorry about that. Getting telly pictures now from Dublin. It is dry and the sun is breaking through. A perfect day for running rugby. No excuses. And "Don't Stop Believing" has just been blaring out over the stadium sound system. Awesome.

Infostrada Sports on Twitter: "ON THIS DAY: One year ago France beat Ireland 33-10 to bring Ireland's record streak of 12 straight Test match wins to an end."

tom moffitt on Twitter: "Just sitting down at home after playing this morning. Looking forward to what looks like a good game. Hope Ireland win!"

1408: So wherever you are on this fine February Sunday afternoon, this commentary is for you. Whether you support Ireland or France, are an England fan crowing about Chris Ashton's four tries against Italy, a Wales fan delighted that your side has returned to winning ways or a Scotland fan frustrated with how your side performed at Murrayfield, you can get involved right here. You can Tweet this commentary via the hashtag #BBCSixNations or ask me a question direct on @markorlovac or text me via 81111 (UK) with SIX NATIONS before your message. Tidy.

1404: Hello gang. Keeping well? Welcome to match six of the 2011 Six Nations… and it should be cracker. Grand slam winners in the last two years, Ireland and France, battle it out at the Aviva Stadium. Actually, I predicted that Scotland v Wales would be a humdinger and look what happened there. I can assure you that this will be different. Cross my heart. Promise.

1400: Dear Rugby Fairy. I don't ask for much with regard to the oval ball game, just for another northern hemisphere country to win the World Cup and for scrum setting to take less than half the match. However, I do make one big plea today, please could the game in Dublin this afternoon be a lot better than what we witnessed at Murrayfield yesterday. Thanks very much, lots of love, Mark.