"DON'T get carried away," was captain Brian O'Driscoll's desperate appeal afterwards but it is hard not to be optimistic after Ireland's best performance in three years, which has set them up for a genuine tilt at championship glory.

The last time an Irish side played with such a verve against quality opposition (which rules out England in 2007) was when they destroyed Australia in Lansdowne Road in 2006.

France may have had a less-than-vintage front five and competency rather than class at half-back but everywhere else they oozed ability and menace, as they demonstrated with two glorious tries scored with the type of elan that sets them apart from every other rugby nation.

And yet Ireland, (or "little old Ireland" as Declan Kidney would have it), scored three tries, each of them beautifully and intelligently conceived. Kidney's stamp was all over this performance for, when France were threatening to run amok, mesmerising defenders with instinctive, flummoxing flair, Ireland never lost their self-belief. They refocused, regathered and worked their way back -- if you want a Kidney reference point think back to Munster's epoch-defining 2000 victory over Toulouse in Bordeaux.

But this was not merely a win founded on psychological surety. Ireland's discipline was exemplary, the official statistics recorded only two penalties conceded against 10 for the French.

Menacing

They struck the right tactical notes also. The back line looked menacing once again as they hit the ball with a depth they had eschewed in November and in this they were aided by France's preference for drift rather than the rush defence which has stifled Irish backs effectively this season.

If that was a tactical decision it paid handsomely. Jamie Heaslip's exuberant try after 36 minutes was also rooted in backroom staff doing their homework. During the week, video analyst Mervyn Murphy identified that the French were vulnerable off four-man line-outs and, when Paul O'Connell provided quality possession from just inside the Irish half, Kidney's men went for the jugular.

Slick passing sent Rob Kearney bursting onto the ball and he released Tommy Bowe who carried the move deep into French territory. When it was moved right, up popped O'Connell again and soon Heaslip was haring for the line. The Leinster No 8 will never score a better try, his swerve around full-back Clement Poitrenaud would have done justice to Simon Geoghegan and Heaslip joyously completed the move with power and desire.

That left the scoreline at 13-7 to the home side with half-time imminent. Earlier, Ronan O'Gara had kicked two penalties either side of classic try for Imanol Harinordoquy, which arrived after a superb flowing move with the French working the ball back and forth across the pitch effortlessly as the Irish scrambled frantically.

Yet, the momentum was handed back to the visitors when Ireland dithered over a shortened line-out in an excellent attacking position and France surged deep into Irish territory to set up out-half Lionel Beauxis for a drop goal to make it 13-10 with the last kick of the half.

If that felt like a turning point towards an eighth successive French victory in this fixture, O'Driscoll thought otherwise and two minutes after the restart he tore onto a beautiful O'Gara release, ripped through Beauxis's attempted tackle and then threw a Heaslip special to slalom beyond the cover and crash over.

Beauxis will not want to run into O'Driscoll again any time soon, having earlier being dumped Brian Lima-style by the Ireland captain, who produced an excellent all-round display that rivalled Heaslip's man-of-the-match turn.

His work in the contact area consistently thwarted French ambition while his try harked back to an earlier incarnation when O'Driscoll was the terror of international midfields the world over.

But, in a classic tournament tussle, France were not about to roll over and conjured a superb score for Maxime Medard when Beauxis' expertly placed kick bounced perfectly for the winger with only substitute hooker Rory Best back minding the house.

Beauxis missed the conversion but 20-15 was not a scoreline to inspire confidence and another Beauxis drop goal followed by an O'Gara penalty miss after 56 minutes did nothing to soothe frazzled nerves. However, then came another of those fairytale moments that attach themselves to the Kidney story, when substitute centre Gordon D'Arcy stepped and surged his way over after excellent work from the pack.

After a career-threatening year out with injury, D'Arcy was not about to contain his jubilation following such a moment of reaffirmation. It was a typical D'Arcy score, a combination of evasion and power and one that Paddy Wallace, the man he replaced, may not have been able to replicate. However, that should not mean D'Arcy should automatically come in for the Ulster man against Italy, he is still in the rehabilitation process and though Wallace had an injury-affected outing, his form this season has earned another shot.

At 27-18, it was reasonable to expect that France would realise the game was up but back they came with Beauxis knocking over a penalty to leave six points in it. Then, after intelligent positional play forced France back into their 22, Luke Fitzgerald -- who had limited opportunities in attack but was hugely effective when France were in possession -- descended upon Cedric Heymans and Heaslip won the turnover to allow O'Gara nail a penalty for 30-21.

Though Kidney will do his utmost to keep expectations in check, the situation is particularly rosy. Rarely has an Ireland squad looked more potent. If Keith Earls comes back into the equation, Kidney has a bewildering array of options in the backline, while Denis Leamy is bulling for a place in the back row but may have to wait after another industrious performance from Stephen Ferris.

Effective

France's uber-athletic back-row fly-aways (not 'fly-half' as 'fly-aways' was mistakenly changed to in Saturday's edition) were hugely effective and shackled Ireland's best ball carrier, David Wallace, in attack but Kidney's side will not have to face a back row, nor a three-quarter line, of that quality for the remainder of the competition.

The set-pieces were excellent, with the Ireland front five coping with their counterparts at scrum time and dominating the line-out (Sebastien Chabal had an eye-catching first half but played like a No 8, to the detriment of his primary second-row duties).

Ireland's half-backs also had the edge, although O'Gara was caught out on a couple of occasions when the French deliberately targeted his channel. Some of Ireland's tactical kicking was loose and invited counter-attacks, but that can be worked on and none of Ireland's future opponents will have such a concerted run-back policy.

A lot of positives to savour then, the greatest being a new-found depth and self-belief. Last spring, the powers that be conducted a worldwide search for a coach to replace Eddie O'Sullivan while Kidney waited patiently by the phone. Let us be grateful it finally rang.

IRELAND -- R Kearney (G Murphy 76); T Bowe, B O'Driscoll (capt), P Wallace (G D'Arcy 28-36min, 62), L Fitzgerald; R O'Gara, T O'Leary; M Horan, J Flannery (R Best 49), J Hayes; D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell; S Ferris (D Leamy 73) J Heaslip, D Wallace.

FRANCE -- C Poitrenaud (C Heymans 73); J Malzieu, F Fritz (B Baby 79), Y Jauzion, M Medard; L Beauxis, S Tillous-Borde (M Parra 68); L Faure, D Szarzewski (B Kayser 58), B Lecouls (N Mas 40); S Chabal (R Millo-Chluski 62), L Nallet (capt); T Dusautoir, I Harinordoquy (L Picamoles 71), F Ouedraogo.

REF -- N Owens (Wales)

- Hugh Farrelly