Ireland’s players had talked a big game in build-up, with Aoife Wafer saying they “owed” France one and Stacey Flood went as far to say that the hosts should be “worried, if I was them”.
It was Wafer who set the tone for a breathless opening 40 minutes with a thundering carry straight from kick-off, and Ireland kicked on from there.
As Ireland sent the ball wide in the third minute, Pauline Barrat’s stray hand knocked the ball forward and the French wing was sent to the bin.
Maloney-MacDonald thought she had crossed for the opening score but referee Clara Munarini ruled the ball had been held up, and Brittany Hogan had a try ruled out for a double movement.
It was a third time lucky for Scott Bemand’s side as Maloney-MacDonald got the try her first-half performance deserved when she rounded off a rolling maul, and Dannah O’Brien added the conversion.
But France are title contenders for a reason and they hit back when Mwayembe scored her first international try. There was some controversy as Wafer felt she had held the ball up but the grounding was not looked at again by match officials.
Arbez converted, and the French fly-half produced a crucial tackle to stop a near-certain score as Fiona Tuite charged towards the line, and Grando raced across from her wing to get her body under the ball before the Irish second row could ground it.
Another chance to retake the lead went abegging when France gave away their eighth penalty of the half and Maloney-MacDonald powered over the line, but that score was ruled out for a knock-on by Emily Lane in the build-up.
The second half started with the same ferocity and two vital Wafer contributions stopped France in the Irish 22, while Aoife Dalton tackled Aubane Rousset into touch just five metres out.
But Ireland found themselves behind 10 minutes after the restart when Arbez jinked around two green jerseys to score, and the fly-half converted her own try.
It was a clinical score as France had 14 points from six visits to the Irish 22, compared to just seven points from double the amount of visits for Ireland.
Ireland were punished further when O’Brien missed a long-distance penalty with 22 minutes left, and replacement Anna McGann just did enough to stop a French crossfield kick reaching Grando in the in-goal area.
But Grando scored her fourth try of the tournament with 13 minutes left as she finished off a flowing move out wide, and Champon secured the bonus point with two minutes remaining.
Ireland’s revenge over France will have to wait another 12 months, but it was a test passed for France as they look to set up a title-decider with England on the final weekend.
