Match Preview: France v Ireland

by Brendan Cole

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Ireland will meet France at 8pm at the Stade de France tonight with just about everything on the line in Pool D. Victory, along with the turnaround in form it will almost certainly require, would bring them to within touching distance of a first ever Rugby World Cup semi-final.

For France, the stakes are higher still: lose, and they are out of what for the players is almost certainly the first and only opportunity they will ever have to play in a Rugby World Cup on home soil. The weight of a nation, and the pressure of an interfering Prime Minister, are on their shoulders.

With the stakes so high, the psychological warfare – ‘l’affair L’Equipe’ being among the latest instalments – has been bubbling away. French coach Bernard Laporte, by opting for David Marty in the centre and Vincent Clerc on the wing, seems to have picked players almost as though his goal was to remind Ireland of failings in the past.

Marty played at Croke Park and in the previous year’s game at the Stade de France was the player that caught Ronan O’Gara’s attempted chip through and scored the try that effectively put France out of reach in the bizarre 43-31 match that year.

That match is also noteworthy for another reason, however, as its last half hour represents the period of rugby in which a new Ireland – running, offloading and daring - finally clicked. They had, up until the current sickness struck, rarely looked back.

Clerc is, of course, the player that scored the try at Croke Park that did for Ireland’s Grand Slam hopes in this year’s Six Nations. Their inclusion means that Yannick Jauzion and Aurelien Rougerie – two players who for reasons of sheer talent in the first place and form in the second Ireland would have had perhaps more reason to fear - do not start.

In the pack, it is Laporte’s decision to select Sebastien Chabal – now verging on becoming the David Beckham of French rugby – that is of most interest. While there is no denying Chabal’s ability – as a ball carrier his combination of massive physique and superb balance are almost unparalleled at this tournament – he is also a lightning rod for the psychological welfare of both teams.

Rugby matches, particularly those that are won by underdogs, usually contain totemic moments and by picking Chabal to start, Laporte has effectively introduced the potential for Ireland to get a major boost. To paraphrase a certain ad campaign: ‘He’s not a Caveman. He’s a Target.’

Ireland’s team selection has also been picked over at length. Jerry Flannery and Andrew Trimble are both relatively straightforward switches: Trimble’s strength in defence being the decisive factor.

Eoin Reddan’s inclusion at scrum-half, in for Peter Stringer, is potentially the most important change. Combing back through the quotes coming out of the Irish camp about Stringer, the switch appears to be about video analysis as much as anything. Ireland know they are stale and the feeling in the camp seems to be that opposition sides have the Munster scrum-half figured out.

Because they could ignore Stringer with impunity, teams have of late found it easy to divert resources from around the breakdown area and into other parts of the pitch. Reddan is an unfamiliar player with a genuine breaking ability. Whatever the theory, the Reddan gamble will receive a massive test tonight and it could go either way. The positive forecast is that it would not be unusual for a sports team in any code to improve for having a player with a better all-round game and superior vision introduced to a pivotal position.

The scrum and lineout game have also been mentioned as important sites for one or other to gain the dominance that will translate to victory in the end. For Ireland, the former is about getting away with it. Olivier Milloud and Pieter de Villiers overpowered a vaunted Argentine eight in the opening game and are two of the best scrummagers John Hayes and Marcus Horan will encounter.

But Hayes and Horan have risen to the big occasion before – and didn’t struggle too much at Croke Park the last time the sides met. It is in the lineout where Ireland appear to have the greater options – and it could be that with new patterns apparently kept on ice in the warm-ups and early stages of Pool D set to be introduced it will once again become Ireland’s launch pad.

Certainly the opportunity to test France for weak spots – Denis Leamy and David Wallace going at Freddy Michalak in the 10 channel; Brian O’Driscoll taking on Marty at outside center - is greater from this platform than from any other.

Michalak and O’Gara may, ultimately, have the winning and losing of the game between them. Michalak’s talents as an unpredictable runner are well documented but he can be upset.

For Ireland, that starts off with matching France in the pack – getting Michalak on the back foot and, hopefully, forcing him to drop deep. If they can do that, they may be in business.

Even before that it is O'Gara's kicking - hopefully a combination of
targeted bombs on Clement Poitrenaud at full-back and raking touch finders into the corners - that may turn out to be the vital
ingredient that allows Ireland to play on their own terms. Meanwhile, having Reddan at the source may yet cause back play that has up until now been muddy and uncertain to suddenly run clear and fresh.

In the end, with Ireland's form and morale under such a cloud, and so much on the line for the French, the prediction game is even more fraught than usual. Given the talent in both sides, it is only possible to go as far as to say only that if Ireland - who in my book have the better pack, half backs and, in the centre pair, gamebreaking combination - can perform at or near their best, they should win.

Obviously, if they can only manage an effort similar to those we have become familiar with in the past five or six games, a tournament-ending hiding awaits.