Saturday 14 February 2015

Ireland v France - Preview


Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has recalled the Lions trio of Jonathan Sexton, Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip for the game against France.

Hooker Rory Best has recovered from a concussion and has completed all the return-to-play protocols.

Another Lion, prop Cian Healy, is on the replacements bench following surgery on a hamstring injury.

France make just one change with prop Eddy Ben Arous replacing the injured Alexandre Menini.

Ireland: 15-Rob Kearney, 14-Tommy Bowe, 13-Jared Payne, 12-Robbie Henshaw, 11-Simon Zebo, 10-Jonathan Sexton, 9-Conor Murray; 1-Jack McGrath, 2-Rory Best, 3-Mike Ross, 4-Devin Toner, 5-Paul O'Connell (c), 6-Peter O'Mahony, 7-Sean O'Brien, 8-Jamie Heaslip
Replacements: 16-Sean Cronin, 17-Cian Healy, 18-Martin Moore, 19-Iain Henderson, 20-Jordi Murphy, 21-Isaac Boss, 22-Ian Madigan, 23-Felix Jones.

France: 15-Scott Spedding, 14-Yoann Huget, 13-Mathieu Bastareaud, 12-Wesley Fofana, 11-Teddy Thomas, 10-Camille Lopez, 9-Rory Kockott; 1-Eddy Ben Arous, 2-Guilhem Guirado, 3-Rabah Slimani, 4-Pascal Pape, 5-Yoann Maestri, 6-Thierry Dusautoir, 7-Bernard Le Roux, 8-Damien Chouly

Replacements: 16-Benjamin Kayser, 17-Uini Atonio, 18-Vincent Debaty, 19-Romain Taofifenua, 20-Loann Goujon, 21-Morgan Parra, 22-Remi Tales, 23-Remi Lamerat.

The performances by both France and Ireland in their opening matches of the 2015 Six Nations were described in their respective country's media in a mixture of unflattering terms such as: 'less than convincing', 'disjointed and lacklustre', 'little to please the eye' and 'battle of attrition'.

Despite them both winning, each side is under pressure to show a little more 'joie de vivre' at the Aviva.

This is a fixture that has been particularly tight in recent years with successive draws followed by a nerve-jangling Championship-clinching win in Paris for Ireland last year by just two points. 

A win on Saturday for the Irish would carry greater significance than just being another step towards retaining their title as both these sides are in the same World Cup group. Winger Tommy Bowe says that beating the French would put them "psychologically in a great position"ahead of the tournament, having already seen off Italy, another Pool D opponent, last weekend.

The Irish are boosted for this game by the reappearance of three Lions to their starting line-up, with another on the bench. The player generating the most headlines on his return is Johnny Sexton. The scourge of the French last year is back at number 10 after an enforced three-month absence following four concussions in 2014.

France coach Philippe Saint-Andre went public this week with his plan to put an undercooked Sexton under pressure by saying they should "test him early on", given his last game was against Australia in November.

However, given the Racing Metro fly-half's knowledge of his French opponents, and 17 points at the Stade de France last year, he is unlikely to be fazed by an early French bombardment.

France looked rusty on their return from a three-month break of their own as they lumbered past Scotland. Old-fashioned forward power ground them out of trouble, but Saint-Andre will have spent this week concocting a plan of how to better release a dangerous back division that weren't given enough chances to shine.

He also spoke of the importance of finally winning away at a major team, something that leaves a yawning gap on his CV with Les Bleus.

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee : Wayne Barnes (ENG)
Touch judges : Nigel Owens (WAL) & Stuart Berry (RSA)
TV : Graham Hughes (ENG)


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