Clement Poitrenaud: Genius or liability? That is the question...
Ireland return to Paris on Sunday for their rescheduled Six Nations clash with Les Bleus at a sold out - and much warmer - Stade de France.
La Fédération Française de Rugby have announced that the 8000 to 9000 tickets that were reimbursed after the postponement of the original game on February 11, have all been sold.
While many Irish fans who made the trip for the initial fixture will be left with a bitter taste in their mouths as they are forced to watch the rescheduled match on TV, it's fair to say that this clash deserves a full stadium.
Judging by last week's performance against Italy - the second half in particular - the visitors should give the pre-tournament favourites a real run for their money. This is despite the fact that the French capital has not been a happy hunting ground for the men in green, who have not won at the Stade de France since 2000 (when Brian O'Driscoll scored a famous hat-trick) - their only victory in Paris since 1972.
Nevertheless, with a settled team as well as coming off the back of a big victory over the Azzurri and a narrow loss to an impressive-looking Welsh side, Declan Kidney's men will believe they can win.
And a settled side they certainly are. Kidney has named an unchanged 22 for the third consecutive week and the same XV that was originally picked to face France.
For those Irish supporters who have been calling for change to the 'aging' Irish side, it's worth noting that the average age of France's starting XV is two years higher than Ireland's at 29.
France field a side with 660 caps while Ireland have marginally less collective experience with 610.
Les Bleus will head into the game with a healthy dose of confidence after two wins under their new coach. Five of France's XV and nine of the 22-man matchday squad have never lost to Ireland at senior international level.
There will two main concerns for the hosts: first and foremost will be the line-out. The French struggled against both Italy and Scotland in an area that is one of Ireland's strongest points.
Dimitri Szarzewski has spoken of the need for time to blend the new calls into France's old system, but they cannot afford to hand over possession cheaply they way they did against Italy or at Murrayfield.
The second issue is what the French like to call l'animation offensive. The wings have touched the ball just 26 times between them in 160 minutes of rugby, a sign of France's struggle to create movement from structured attack.
Granted, they have counter-attacked brilliantly but when faced with a well-organised defence such as Ireland's, simply living off the opposition's mistakes will not be enough.
In both regards - line-outs and attacking cohesion - the extra preparation time afforded to the XV de France by the postponement will be seen as a blessing in disguise. Instead of facing Ireland with just two weeks preparation, they have now been together under their new coaches for a month.
One thing that hasn't changed under the new regime is France's power at scrum time and the Irish pack will face a stiff challenge if they are compete when ref Dave Pearson calls 'engage!'... Mike Ross is likely to be targeted by a very experienced French from row.
France have won nine consecutive games at the Stade de France, a run stretching back to the 2008 Six Nations. Can Ireland upset the applecart? We'll find out on Sunday.
Players to watch:
For France: Clermont flank Julien Bonnaire has been promoted to the starting XV ahead of Louis Picamoles, a decision which has sparked great debate. Bonnaire's height will give France an extra line-out option, which will certainly come in handy. The 33-year-old has admitted he had planned on retiring after the World Cup but couldn't bring himself to leave the scene on a negative note and is hoping to end his career in Bleu with a Grand Slam. He has never lost to Ireland in six Championship matches. Vincent Clerc wins his 60th cap on Saturday and represents France's most potent attacking threat against Ireland, having scored five times in his six Championship appearances against Declan Kidney's men. Those tries against Ireland represent nearly half of Clerc's total number of tries scored in the Six Nations (eleven).
For Ireland: As the old saying goes, size doesn't mean everything but Keith Earls has a huge task on his hands in trying to stop Aurélien Rougerie, who is 16kg heavier and 13cm taller than the Munsterman. Earls is a good tackler, but many feel Ireland would be better served by an all-Leinster midfield with Fergus McFadden at thirteen. Earls will know the best way to prove his doubters wrong. The same goes for Conor Murray who has been criticised for the pace at which he serves his backline. He will need a big game to keep Eoin Reddan from taking over.
Head-to-head: Clément Poitrenaud makes his first start for France in the Six Nations since appearing in the 9-17 loss to England one year ago. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes a liability, the Toulouse man's battle with Rob Kearney could be vital. With Ireland potentially looking for field position to exploit the presumed French line-out fragility, Poitrenaud's kicking game will be under scrutiny from his opposite number, who has been in sterling form. For fans of big hits, the battle of the back-rows is set to be a highlight of the whole tournament. Harinordoquy-Bonnaire-Dusautoir v O'Brien-Heaslip-Ferris...boom, boom, boom!
Previous results:
This weekend's game is the 90th meeting between the two sides. France have won 56 of those against Ireland's 29 victories, while there have been five draws.
2011:France won 26-22 at Lansdowne Rd, Dublin
2011:France won 19-12 at Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
2011:France won 25-22 at Lansdowne Rd, Dublin
2010:France won 33-10 at Stade de France, Paris
2009: Ireland won 30-21 at Croke Park, Dublin
2008: France won 26-21 at Stade de France, Paris
2007: France won 25-3 at Stade de France, Paris (RWC)
2007: France won 20-17 at Croke Park, Dublin
2006: France won 43-31 at Stade de France, Paris
2005: France won 26-19 at Lansdowne Rd, Dublin
2004: France won 35-17 at Stade de France, Paris
2003: France won 43-21 at Colonial Stadium, Melbourne (RWC)
2003: Ireland won 15-12 at Lansdowne Rd, Dublin
2002:France won 44-5 at Stade de France, Paris
Prediction: Looking back over the last ten years, these sides have faced each other 14 times and Ireland have claimed victory just twice. France's home record is very impressive and we feel that they have just a little bit more firepower. France by six points!
The teams:
France: 15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 William Servat, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Julien Dupuy, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Maxime Mermoz.
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Peter O'Mahony, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Fergus McFadden.
Date: Sunday, March 4
Venue: Stade de France, St. Denis (Paris)
Kick-off: 16.00 (15.00 GMT)
Weather: Cloudy, 14°C
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
Comments
crunchfit says...
I don't understand why people complain about SOB being played at 7. The problem is that Ireland currently lack a genuine 7, not that SOB is playing with that number on his back. Whether you are 6, 7 or 8 doesn't really change anything apart from where you are positioned on the scrum and even then, you can switch positions.
That said, SOB just hasn't been cutting it recently. I'd like to see him dropped to the bench for now and POM stuck on there instead. Or else place SOB at 8 and put POM at 7, because I don't feel Heaslip has been up to standard either recently. One option may be better for running the ball, the other might be better for gaining and keeping position. I am not sure which might be most important against France, but I do not like the current back row selection.
@liam2me
I have seen you complain about the bias of Leinster fans many times when there has been none. Every time I read your comments it seems more and more apparent that the bias lies only with you. It's a shame that you do not support and unnecessarily criticise the players who are selected to play for your country because they are not the players you might have chosen. We are all supporting the same team here.
Posted 14:41 02nd March 2012
howrtings says...
Not sure where this perceived weakness in the French Lineout is coming from - especially with the selection of Bonnaire, they will have an excellent Line Out - and will show us that they have one of the very best definsive lineouts in the game.
All round....it's going to be a bad day at the office for the Irish - but here's hoping!!!
Posted 13:53 02nd March 2012
Potato_Smuggler says...
We're going to win this match. Don't ask me how or why. I just know we're going to win.
Posted 13:10 02nd March 2012
sextons_on_fire says...
@liam2(tool)me
A troll's comment if i ever read one. Does everything look dark and dreary under your little bridge? Moron
This munster bias is typical. A friend of mine was at the Italy game last week and when johnny sexton lined up his first kick, my friend heard booing and hissing behind him - he turned around and they were three guys in ireland shirts. Obviously they were munster fans. Booing the ireland fly-half. Apparently when sexton missed the final conversion they burst out laughing and started jeering. You'd never get that from leinster fans, that's for sure
Posted 13:09 02nd March 2012
Adamk says...
"Earls is a good tackler,"
Incorrect.
"The same goes for Conor Murray who has been criticised for the pace at which he serves his backline. He will need a big game to keep Eoin Reddan from taking over."
Also incorrect. Don't expect anything from Kidney and you won't be disappointed. Conor Murray could literally not touch the ball all day on sunday and still get picked. Reddan will no longer be considered. There's obviously something more than just rugby going on here...
Posted 13:00 02nd March 2012
liam2me says...
With D'arcy at 12 tackling like a wet paper bag meaning everyone else will have to cover for him and Sexton bottling the big kicks when the pressure is really on, I think 6 is being generous to the Irish.
Posted 10:58 02nd March 2012
Carpelone says...
I am afraid, six point is quite optimistic. France's discipline was great, I do not see many opportunities for Ireland to score. On the contrary, France's backline will have much to say, especially if set-piece will work for France. Hope to be wrong and watch a tight game.
Posted 10:56 02nd March 2012
pog_mahone says...
Einstein defined insanity as repeatedly doing things the same way and expecting different results. Our back row isn't working. Our scrum half may be good defensively but he's slowing down Ireland's attacking game. Ball carriers are gaining yards on our defence every time. Heaslip and D'Arcy are anonymous, and O'Brien is like a fish out of water at 7. What has Kidney done about any of these issues for the French game? Any why should we expect a different result than 2 wins in 40 years?
Posted 08:56 02nd March 2012