Jack McGrath has warned his Ireland team-mates there's no room for error in Paris but confidently declared: "We fully believe we can go over to France and win."
Les Bleus will try to end a run of three straight defeats against Joe Schmidt's men on Saturday and prevent their opponents from winning four meetings between the two countries in a row for the first time in 88 years - Ireland clocked up six victories on the bounce between 1924 and 1928.
Johnny Sexton's penalty rescued a 16-16 draw against Wales at the Aviva Stadium last Sunday, with the hosts left to count the cost of small errors in what was a largely impressive performance.
McGrath expects an even sterner test at Stade de France, but says a victory is there for the taking if Ireland can eradicate mistakes the Welsh so gleefully punished last week.
“There’s positives and negatives to take from [the Wales game]," McGrath told RTÉ Sport.
"We’ve looked at both and we’re taking more positives out if it. I think we have to be more clinical, we let a few things away.
"I think we dropped two or three balls in their 22. That’s something we’re going to have to look at because any balls we drop, France are going to pick it up and play.
“It’s a carrot for us going over there and it's going to be a very physical test. They're a very athletic team and big team. It’s something we’re really looking forward to.
“We’d have liked to have gotten a win on Sunday but we’re still in it. We fully believe we can go over to France and win."
McGrath will win his 27th international cap against the French after being named in the starting pack on Thursday.
It's an honour the Leinster man does not take for granted, as he prepares for the challenge of a changed-up France team, Guy Noves having made six alterations to the side that narrowly defeated Italy.
“It’s always good to get selected for an Irish team; it’s still exciting every time the team is being named because you never really know where you are until it’s named, which is probably a good way to be because you’re always on your toes," McGrath added.
“There's always things to work on. For us as a pack there's always going to be different scenarios you’re going to be faced with. We’re just going to have to do our homework and work really hard in that area.
“These guys are going to be hurting because we’ve beaten them the last couple of times we’ve played them. We’re going to have to go over there with our heads screwed on.
“Nothing changes for us in our prep. There’s just different names on the sheet than we thought there would be."
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