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
Rosbif says...
@blametheref..... you said it would be "virtually a 50/50 match". remind to put some money in your hedge fund!!
Well played today and good luck for your last two games :-)
Posted 21:29 04th March 2012
Facec says...
Whilst the Irish team may have problems in certain areas I am amazed at all the hype around the French team. If we go back to the World Cup they were a total shambles at the start, had a good 20 minutes against England and then edged their way unconvincingly past the Welsh who lost Warburton and A Jones within a 10 minute period. Had they not I suspect they would have won. They played well in the final but the AB's certainly did not have their best game as the pressure mounted. Since then they have played Italy and Scotland and did not destroyed either side, certainly not the Scots who at times retained possession for long periods. They rely heavily on their scrum and the Aussie's showed last year that if you nulify the threat there they don't always have a plan B.
I'm not saying they are a bad side but we'll see today how good they really are as i think the Irish certainly have the fire-power to push them all the way in Paris. Really important Healy and Ross hold their own and the centre's can stop Fofana who looks a real talent.
Posted 10:33 04th March 2012
liam2me says...
@black47.
Well said, I couldn't give a fiddlers who the individual players his club rugby for. DOC, Heaslip, Sexton and D'Arcy are all not the best players available in their positions at the moment.
I was also a big Kidney fan, he has a GS and 2 HECs under his belt which no other Irish man can say, but he did that by surrounding himself with the best coaches he could. Our backs have been appalling recently in attack and the fact that hasn't been addressed with the quality available has been a major fault, along with picking players who are blatantly out of form when better players are available.
If I had my choice Ryan would be at 4, POM would be at 7 with SOB at 8. ROG would be at 10 with Sexton at 12 and (a Leinster man, shock horror) Keatley on the bench (he is Ireland's best hope for the future at 10).
As for "Sextons on fire's" petty comments, Leinster fans have form on being critical of non-Leinster players and coaches, even going way back to Munster winning the first 2 HEC's while Leinster had none. That inferiority complex is hard to shake even with their recent success.
Posted 17:03 03rd March 2012
Rosbif says...
Hehehe, justice, remember this isn't Super rugby. 16+ point winning margins are a rarity in 6N. Remember also, this is the same Ire team that beat Aus in their RWC pool game, the same Aus that dusted themselves down and beat SA in the quarter. If Ire play, they are not easy to put away.
By the way, watching CJ ref the Bulls v Cheetahs game. He's got his hands full, but he's doing a great job as ever..... Morne Steyn pulling hair like a girl on 48 mins.... priceless :-)
Posted 16:22 03rd March 2012
blametheref says...
@Rosbif
Agree with you that the weather could change the complexion of this match if it's wet and windy and though a lot of Irish would be skeptical about winning in Paris it is virtually a 50/50 match. Though most Irish are critical of particular aspects of our team (me included) )Ireland can compete with any team in the world and are a good team with a lot of exceptional players. Sexton can deliver one of the highest up an unders around and if the conditions are bad and he gets it right Poitrenaud and the wingers could be severely tested. Also too could Trin Duc and Fofana who likes to take the ball at lightning speed. If the conditions are bad we could see mistakes between these two as Trin Duc has admitted that he'still trying to get used to this style of play from Fofana. Another aspect of the bad weather is that it should suit our 7 who is really a 6, Sean O' Brien, with the pace taken out of the game he could shine and we could see some special ball carrying thrusts from him....All in all it's going to be a great game and I'm looking forward to hoping that Ireland can beat the future World Champions in waiting in their own stable
Posted 15:19 03rd March 2012
carpelone says...
Froggy. My idea on France is that they are developing nicely. The game with Wales will be a little bit too early and with the team a bit fatigué. The backs are outstanding, the forwards are their usual selves. Why Lievremont did not bring Malzieu is still a mistery to me. My opinion is that France can improve in their outhalves, to be consistently in the three top team. Apologies to have mis-interpreted your earlier post, I thought you were assuming an easy win with Ireland.
PS with those nicknames, froggy73 and potato_smuggler, you can be pretty sure where you come from.....Enjoy the game.
Posted 14:16 03rd March 2012
Rosbif says...
Weather looks bad. What a shame. Too cold last time. Windy and rainy this time. Expect a big forward battle methinks. And plenty of high balls for Poitrenaud. This game just got much closer in my book. Wonder how T-Duc feels about leading a backline with no-one outside him able to kick!!
One more sleep....
Posted 09:40 03rd March 2012
froggy73 says...
Carpelone, it's not even confidence. I have absolutely no idea what this French team is worth (we learnt very little from the 2 games vs Scotland and Italy). I am rather pleased with the team on the paper (except Szarzewski) but nothing more than that. I guess I'll have a better idea after the 3 games played against Ireland, England and Wales.
Posted 07:53 03rd March 2012
Marty_farty says...
Interesting photo... isnt that a gouge from the frenchman?? he's definately making contact with eye area!
Posted 04:06 03rd March 2012
carpelone says...
Froggy. In any case, no pb. France are the clear favourite for this game. Let's call it confidence, right. Let's hope that it will be entertaining.
Posted 20:47 02nd March 2012
carpelone says...
A frog sense of humour
Posted 20:40 02nd March 2012
mcdb06 says...
@black47
Well said. The amount of times since the 6 Nations teams assembled most comments are from a lot of Leinster fans whinging about Earls yet it was McFadden who got smashed against Wales.
Liam2me has a point about D'arcy, his defense is poor.
Frankly as an Irishman the provincial bias in all these comments is embarrassing. People can't give an objective view. Just sh*t on their own countrymen based on the province they play with.
Posted 18:57 02nd March 2012
froggy73 says...
@Carpelone: that was actually humour, but you are free to see this as arrogance, I can't care less. Potato_smuggler seems to have much more humour than you have...
Posted 18:19 02nd March 2012
olearyc5 says...
@ Sebbb
I dont understand how you can say D'Arcy is a 13. He's never played there, or if he has it's been less than 5 games. He's not a great tackler or organiser to be able to defend at 13.
I'm also fairly sure Dusaustoir is more of a 6 then a 7, but France's back row is so fluid that it doesnt matter whose 6,7 or 8 they always seem to get the job done.
We need that cohesion in our pack, which is nearly there. We don't have a 7, but you can see people like Heaslip, O'Connell, Healy and Donnacha Ryan battling away which they have to in the mean time. Its no match for a Warburton or a Brussow though. Things will get better when Strauss qualifies aswell.
Posted 18:07 02nd March 2012
Potato_Smuggler says...
@froggy73
I will tell you after the match ; )
Posted 16:22 02nd March 2012
Carpelone says...
Froggy73, the biggest enemy of France is arrogance, a thing you are never short.
Mind your back, instead.
Posted 15:52 02nd March 2012
pierredelot1 says...
It's the Irish midfield that are letting them down. D'Arcy just hasn't hit the spot at this level since pre world cup and the partnership with Earls doesn't look either potent in attack or solid in defence. With no true No 7 to help them out defensively I just can't see them patching it together for 80 minutes. Ireland have to start blooding younger players anyway, D'Arcy won't make the next World Cup, neither will BOD and this back row despite their go forward and ball carrying ability isn't ideal from a defensive point of view as none of them have the pace of say a Warburton or Dussautoir. Like so many sides they have also picked a nine who just can't get the ball away quickly and accurately leaving them in no mans land from an attacking point of view. Feeling is a crushing victory for France followed by another "Oh dear what went wrong from Ireland" they just seem to have lost their way or at least DK has.
Posted 15:36 02nd March 2012
darthbok says...
ireland were a little unlucky to loose to a good welsh side -- this time in france , business is business -- ireland will eke out a narrow win - the french need to be bullied, and get their own crowd booing -- then they will fall apart on the bright green banana skin
Posted 15:19 02nd March 2012
froggy73 says...
@Potato_smuggler: You are French aren't you ? ;)
Posted 15:10 02nd March 2012
melkdave says...
I with most posters here cant see an irish victory this weekend im afraid.No matter how hard i look and try to find an area Ireland can exploit i just cant see one.Granted France will have to step up a gear or two, but to be honest they look well capable of doing so imoand their backs atm are just leathal with only a sniff of a try from a mistake..While the pack is solid if not the best of the championshuip .I dont feel they will massacre Ireland but a 9-12 poimt wining margin to my mind looks very likly
Posted 14:48 02nd March 2012