Six Nations Preview: France v Ireland

by Brendan Cole

How did it ever come to this?

Ireland must go to the one place they fear most with dark clouds overhead, a depressing gloom all around them and, it seems, the entire country's rugby sanity hanging by a thread.

From the outside it seems they have little prospect of surviving an encounter with this powerful and newly revolutionised France; a France which, if the Scottish match is to be believed, consists of a sparkling overlay of shimmering and vibrant backs, a solid core of gristle and toughness, and a perfect linking mechanism in the back-row. And then there's the awesomely simple but extremely effective defensive line.

Is it in Ireland's favour that little is expected of them?

Perhaps finally being written off will loosen the shackles and bring some of the romance and heart back into the Irish game.

More than a few of the low-points in this horrific slump have been hidings to nothing; matches where the lack of a performance was the source of disquiet. Here, an ugly win would be perfectly acceptable (thank you very much).

Ireland -v- Italy: sluggish, listless, and lacking attitude

Unfortunately, as much as on-field sluggishness, a lack of deftness in the shaping of the mental landscape pre-match has been among the noticeable features of Ireland's run of poor performances. Disappointingly, there is still a vibe of paranoia and sulk emanating from within the camp, and motivation and togetherness seems to still be an issue.

While there may be no in-fighting, there is a disturbing lack of unity that seems to be manifesting itself on the field in an almost tangible listlessness and lack of attitude. While the crowd was a huge disappointment against Italy, Ireland undeniably lacked charisma. There was not even a hint of the dramatic sense of togetherness and unity of spirit that the great Six Nations teams thrive on. But there are reasons to be hopeful.

New players should add range, bite, and better kicking

Improvements have been made to the starting XV, although the bench has been weakened as a result. Jamie Heaslip and Bernard Jackman have come into the pack at the expense of Simon Easterby and Rory Best.

Heaslip should add some much-needed range to the pack, while his athleticism, handling and natural rugby-playing ability should bring the level of linkage and continuity between backs and forwards to a new level.

Sceptics say he can fade out of games at times; this is his big chance to prove them wrong. Jackman, meanwhile, should add some much needed bite. His presence and dynamism in the ruck area should help to make Ireland competitive in what has been a key weakness.

Introduced when Ireland were already in holding pattern mode against Italy, both now have a chance to play a part in shaping the match from the start.

Rob Kearney, the other new addition to the team, could also play an important role, mainly through his long kicking. Both Geordan Murphy and Girvan Dempsey are short to average kickers by international standards, but Kearney's left boot is top class.

If, along with Ronan O'Gara, Kearney is designated as the man to move the ball in the ping pong games, he could help Ireland match Cedric Heymans' length from the back. Kearney's upper body strength and defensive ability could also be a help in locking down the pocket rocket Vincent Clerc, and the marauding French back row.

Defensive line: yielded overlaps, despite being conservative

Moving on from there, a key concern against Italy was the defensive line and system. At odds with international trends, it often seemed to be geared towards screening and shepherding instead of getting up and forcing the mistake.

Bafflingly, despite its low-risk calibration, it continually yielded numbers mis-matches in both directions - hardly the problem you want to take to play a French side that has fallen back in love with the short side.

The lineout has also been a major issue. Against Italy last week, and against France at the World Cup, it undermined Ireland hugely. Malcolm O'Kelly must have the game of his life in the air if Ireland are to have a chance. They were taken apart in the air by Julien Bonnaire and Thierry Dusautoir at RWC 2007, albeit without O'Kelly in the side, and will face the same opponents here. A huge challenge.

The scrum must also hold up, although with Marcus Horan and John Hayes having done particularly well even through the dark times, that might not be as big a problem as it has tended to be historically in France. After that, the issue is where Ireland's points will come from.

Where can Ireland score from?

Eoin Reddan's ability to slip a tackle could also come in useful, and it could be that he and Heaslip will complement each other.

Neither David Wallace nor Denis Leamy typically play with a breaking half-back; Heaslip's experience of doing so could see Reddan better supported when he backs himself.

At 10, Ronan O'Gara will need to outplay his opposite number David Skrela in the field-position battle and put the French pack on the back foot whenever possible. He must also launch his midfield effectively.

Defensively, the centres are potentially France's weak point. Heaslip, Wallace, Andrew Trimble and Brian O'Driscoll - how long since we saw him go 20 yards on an international field with ball in hand? - will need to take them on there and win decisively. If that quartet can make breaks, half-breaks, create angles and complete offloads up the middle, Ireland have a chance.

But France look set up to take advantage of Ireland's lack of zip, mental tiredness and lack of ideas. France seem to be on a path to a new rugby - a path they could well find themselves rudely knocked from soon. The question is whether Ireland have the required stomach for the fight to do it.

The nightmare scenario of long periods of stalemate, interspersed with short bursts of 'brass band rugby' is easily visualised and could make for a Paris hiding to rank among the worst in living memory.

If it is to be avoided you get the sense that Ireland will have to have every bounce of the ball and decision go their way, and that all they will need then is a minor miracle. For the sake of certain players, you dearly hope it will happen.

If not, this may well be the beginning of the end.

France XV to play Ireland: 15 Cédric Heymans (Toulouse), 14 Aurélien Rougerie (Clermont), 13 David Marty (Perpignan), 12 Damien Traille (Biarritz), 11 Vincent Clerc (Toulouse) 10 David Skrela (Stade Français), 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (Toulouse), 8 Julien Bonnaire (Clermont), 7 Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo (Montpellier), 5 Lionell Nallet (Castres), 4 Arnaud Mela (Albi), 3 Lionel Faure (Sale), 2 Dmitri Szarzewski (Stade Français), 1 Nicolas Mas (Perpignan).

Replacements: 16 William Servat (Toulouse), 17 Julien Brugnaut (Dax), 18 Loïc Jacquet (Clermont), 19 Louis Picamoles (Montpellier), 20 Morgan Parra (Bourgoin), 21 François Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), 22 Anthony Floch (Clermont).

Ireland XV to play France: 15 Girvan Dempsey (Leinster), 14 Geordan Murphy (Leicester), 13 Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster), 12 Andrew Trimble (Ulster), 11 Rob Kearney (Leinster), 10 Ronan O'Gara (Munster), 9 Eoin Reddan (Wasps), 8 Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), 7 David Wallace (Munster), 6 Denis Leamy (Munster), 5 Malcolm O'Kelly (Leinster), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster), 3 John Hayes (Munster), 2 Bernard Jackman (Leinster), 1 Marcus Horan (Munster).

Replacements: 16 Rory Best (Ulster), 17 Tony Buckley (Munster), 18 Mick O'Driscoll (Munster), 19 Simon Easterby (Llanelli Scarlets), 20 Peter Stringer (Munster), 21 Paddy Wallace (Ulster), 22 Shane Horgan (Leinster).

Watch France v Ireland live on RTÉ Two and www.rte.ie/live (Ireland only) on Saturday, 9 February. Commentary is live on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.