Will French Flair Be Enough To Topple The Irish?

Six Nations fans will be treated to a top-of-the-table clash this weekend when Les Bleus host the Irish at Stade de France. 

Ireland are the talk of the Six Nations after their commanding victory over Wales which sees Andy Farrell’s men take up a spot at 2nd place on the log behind their opponents for this weekend France. 

While Ireland were expected finish victorious, the uncompromising manner in which they dismantled Wales made the rest of the competition sit up sharply and take notice as the notion was rammed home that the men in green are serious contenders for this year’s title.  

Wayne Pivac’s men were never in the game, and the Irish dominance was such that one was secured with the notion that even if Wales weren’t missing a few big names, the result would have been much the same.  

However, in the wake of the victory, Ireland captain Johnny Sexton was quick to make it clear that Ireland’s focus is on the remainder of the tournament. 

“I can’t tell you how demoralising it is when you go back to last year, first game sitting in the dressing room with nothing to show for all of your efforts: Triple Crown gone, Grand Slam gone and up against it to win a championship,” he said.  

“That’s what we’re pleased with most.  

“We feel there was plenty of stuff to brush up on for next week because France away is arguably one of the biggest tests in world rugby, so we need to be at our very best and we need to learn some lessons from today, even in victory.  

“I think we did that well over November and hopefully we continue in that vein.” 

Legendary Irish centre Brian O’Driscoll was very impressed with the performance. 

“We talked about the need for them to be patient and not to get frustrated and they were very clinical at times.  

“The accuracy in pretty difficult conditions created about four or five scoring chances and they took four of them. Individuals are playing well, but it’s how they’re combining as units that is perhaps the most impressive, there is real fluidity.  

“There is a huge amount to be pleased about and to be honest not much you could pick holes in.” 

Saturday was conclusive proof that Ireland now harbour one of the best packs of forwards in the world; fit, mobile and tough with a steely determination to dominate what’s in front of them, they laid a solid foundation for Johnny Sexton to ignite his wonderfully drilled and creative backline. All in all, they will make for stout opposition on Saturday although France themselves are a very dangerous unit, making the prospect of this clash something to savour.  

The Irish suffered some misfortune this week as Sexton was ruled out of the French clash with a hamstring strain sustained in training. His omission means that Joey Carbery comes into the starting XV to assume the fly-half duties while James Ryan takes the captain’s armband. 

France stuttered to victory against an Italian side who showed a surprising amount of courage in Paris. 

Les Bleus were slightly off the oil in Round 1 which may be attributed some over-eagerness and lack of game time. Inject an element of nerves into their players (as no doubt they will have this week) and the result could be a far more focused and dangerous outfit. 

“We made lots of mistakes this evening, lots of handling errors in difficult conditions,” said French scrumhalf Antoine Dupont. “But we got the result and we can be satisfied with that. It’s always difficult to play Italy at home, we know the energy they come at you with every time. 

“Despite that, there were too many approximations all over the pitch, we gave them things too easily, lots of penalties, knock-ons in our half. We had to get that right, to be more serious and cleaner. We knew the chances would come after that. A bit like the team, I made quite a few handling errors, some wrong choices, but I got some rhythm and feeling back.” 

The French pack of forwards will have to be at their best if they hope to match the Irish up front. A glance at their pack would suggest they have the goods. Special mention should be made of number 8 Gregory Alldritt who was a stand-out performer against the Italians. 

Galthie has made two changes to his side to tackle the men in green. Francois Cros has replaces Dylan Cretin in the starting XV, the latter dropping to the bench. The injury to Jonathan Danty sees him fall out of the squad, replaced by Yoram Moefana who takes his place in the starting lineup with Thibaud Flament drafted into the matchday 23. 

This should be a colossal clash for fans to enjoy between arguably the top teams in the competition. Ireland will not have the voice of their home crowd in their ears this time, but if they can carry through their form from last week, they are guaranteed to make life difficult for Les Bleus. The latter will be hoping for a far more clinical performance this week as they chase the form which saw them knock down the All Blacks at the end of last year.