PARIS (AP) — France began its Six Nations title defense with five tries and a bonus point after a dominant 36-14 win against Ireland on Thursday.
France scored a tournament-record 30 tries last year and a rout looked on the cards at a rainy Stade de France. France led 29-0 thanks to prolific left winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey's second try, but Ireland rallied with two second-half tries.
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Ireland's Stuart McCloskey, centre right, and France's Oscar Jegou, centre, challenge for the ball during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
France's Antoine Dupont challenges for the ball during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
France's Matthieu Jalibert celebrates after the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
France's Louis Bielle-Biarrey scores a try during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
France's Theo Attissogbe, centre left, celebrates after scoring a try with Matthieu Jalibert during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Bielle-Biarrey scored the first try in the 12th minute and recalled flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert got the second with just over 20 minutes played.
A slick move worthy of France's backs — but orchestrated at speed by three of its forwards — led to third scored by rampaging lock Charles Ollivon.
Although the opening exchanges were close enough, that was only until Bielle-Biarrey showed just why he was voted the tournament’s best player last year after scoring eight tries.
He broke two tackles down the left wing, including one that briefly dropped him onto his knees, before powering over.
Ramos converted that one but missed his next attempt after Jalibert had cut through a weak tackle from opposite number Sam Prendergast for his fourth international try, one year after a poor performance on his last appearance for France.
A Ramos penalty moved Les Tricolores 15-0 up, and the third try soon followed. Prop Jean-Baptiste Gros picked up a loose ball and passed to lock Mickaël Guillard, who offloaded to give Ollivon his 18th international try, converted by Ramos.
Ireland did not resist for long after the break.
Ramos set up Bielle-Biarrey for his second try with a soccer-style flick with the outside of his foot, sending the jet-heeled winger scampering into the left corner for his 22nd international try in just 23 tests.
“It’s a great result for us, but we shouldn’t get carried away,” Ramos said. “We won the territorial battles and the aerial challenges, which helped us to keep them under pressure.”
Ireland finally got on the board with tries in quick succession from back-rower Nick Timoney and prop Michael Milne, who both came off the bench.
Prendergast's pass allowed center Stuart McCloskey to break the line and he offloaded for Timoney to score, and a strong driving maul allowed Milne to bulldoze over for his try.
Prendergast converted both.
Lock James Ryan flattened Jalibert with a spiteful challenge off the ball in the closing stages. Jalibert recovered and fed Théo Attissogbe in the right corner with seconds left for another converted try.
“We did the basics well and managed to play a bit, too. We combined business with pleasure,” star scrumhalf Antoine Dupont said. “We are sure of our strengths.”
With flyhalf Romain Ntamack still recovering from a kidney injury, Jalibert is likely to keep his place alongside Dupont for the trip to Wales on Feb. 15.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Ireland's Stuart McCloskey, centre right, and France's Oscar Jegou, centre, challenge for the ball during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
France's Antoine Dupont challenges for the ball during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
France's Matthieu Jalibert celebrates after the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
France's Louis Bielle-Biarrey scores a try during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
France's Theo Attissogbe, centre left, celebrates after scoring a try with Matthieu Jalibert during the Six Nations rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.
The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.
But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”
U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.
The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.
Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.
Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.
Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”
About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.
The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.
But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.
Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.
Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”
Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
