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Serge Betsen celebrates France's last-gasp victory. Anthony Devlin

Remember the time an Irish TMO denied Ireland the Six Nations in a points difference thriller?

We still don’t know how France escaped with the trophy in 2007.

EIGHT YEARS ON, the call doesn’t get any easier to understand. The last time Ireland were involved in a final day decider reminiscent of tomorrow’s slate of crackers was back in 2007, when Eddie O’Sullivan’s men were trying to pip France.

If you recall, Ireland’s glorious backline cut loose in the Roman sunshine, running in eight fabulous tries in a 51-24 win. But crucially, they conceded two late scores, which ended up proving decisive.

wolfmanh / YouTube

France played Scotland in Paris after the Ireland game, knowing a win by 24 points or more would give them their second consecutive Six Nations title and their fourth in six seasons.

With five minutes to go it looked like they had the championship sealed, leading 39-14. But then Euan Murray scored a try for Scotland leading to a mad last-minute scramble by the home side.

It ended with Elvis Vermeulen trying to ground the ball as the clock went dead. Craig Joubert went to the TMO, Simon McDowell, who just happened to be Irish.

These were some of the angles he would have seen.

try

try2

try3

It looks like the Scottish defender got his arm under the ball but the TMO awarded the try and France snatched the Six Nations from Ireland’s grasp.

And although Ireland were denied, it remains one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the championship.

This year we have 3.5 teams in contention so it should be even better (although ideally, there won’t be another incident like that Vermeulen try).

For what its worth, that TMO’s son apparently rang him afterwards and said he thought his dad made a mistake. You weren’t the only one, kid.

The Irish team most likely to win a Six Nations title this weekend has named a strong XV

Super Rugby has a new juggernaut and they look irresistible at the moment

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4 Comments
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    Mute mcdb06
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    Mar 30th 2015, 3:54 PM

    I miss the Heineken Cup

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    Mute Jack White
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    Mar 30th 2015, 3:26 PM

    Why would Wasps play in Brighton if they won? Surely there’s another neutral stadium closer to their fanbase?

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Mar 30th 2015, 3:47 PM

    It was actually 2012 the last time we won and not 2013.

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    Mute #COYBIB
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    Mar 30th 2015, 4:24 PM

    Considering Wasps are now a Coventry club, I’m surprised they have nominated a stadium in Brighton – a very big distance for Coventry based fans to travel and not even that convenient for London based fans to get to either, especially considering the amount of stadia in England, they had plenty to choose from much closer to home (such as Leicester city stadium which is the same size as the one in Brighton) or any number of suitable stadia in the city of London.

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    Mute James Dolan
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    Mar 30th 2015, 4:32 PM

    Sure most their fans are based west London or High Hycombe.

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    Mute James Dolan
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    Mar 30th 2015, 4:33 PM

    Wycombe

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    Mute Masterofgamz
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    Mar 30th 2015, 5:51 PM

    Don’t worry wasps won’t beat Toulon anyway no need for this fuss

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    Mute Robert Behan
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    Mar 30th 2015, 8:21 PM

    Brighton is only an hour away from London and is probably a lot easier to get to than Coventry

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    Mute James Dolan
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    Mar 30th 2015, 11:30 PM

    Exactly.

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