Kickoff: 2:15pm
Date: Saturday 8th March
Location: The Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Team news
Ireland
1.Porter 2.Sheehan 3.Bealham 4.McCarthy 5.Beirne
6.O'Mahony 7.van der Flier 8.Doris(C) 9.Gibson-Park 10.Prendergast
11.Lowe 12.Aki 13.Henshaw 14.Osborne 15.Keenan
16.Herring 17.Healy 18.Clarkson 19.Ryan
20.Conan 21.Baird 22.Murray 23.Crowley
France
1.Gros 2.Mauvaka 3.Atonio 4.Flament 5.Guillard
6.Cros 7.Boudehent 8.Alldritt 9.Dupont(C) 10.Ntamack
11.Bielle-Biarrey 12.Moefana 13.Barassi 14.Penaud 15.Ramos
16.Marchand 17.Baille 18.Aldegheri 19.Meafou
20.Auradou 21.Jegou 22.Jelonch 23.Lucu
Ireland have selected a stronger team to take on France than the team that just about managed to see off Wales. This strong line-up includes the experience of O'Mahony from the start as well as Murray and Healy to come off the bench. All three of these players are playing their final Six Nations campaign having each announced their retirements from international rugby this year. O'Mahony and Healy have announced that they are retiring from professional rugby as a whole whereas Murray has only been confirmed as retiring from the international arena. Although, he appears to be leaving Munster at the end of the season with no other contract publicly agreed so he may also retire at the same time as his teammates.
Elsewhere, this is a fairly standard Ireland selection. The bench has a 6-2 split of forwards and backs. The known admission from the squad is Gary RIngrose who has been suspended following his red card against Wales. That suspension has caused no end of uproar in France in particular do to Ireland being allowed to count a Leinster game RIngrose obviously would never have played in as a suspension game whereas Ntamack seemingly could not do the same with Toulouse games in which he actually might have taken part.
The most controversial admission from the Irish 23 comes on the right wing. Mack Hansen is out with an injury so one would assume that Calvin Nash is the obvious replacement given he has previously played in place of Hansen and done very well. However, Easterby has opted for a different route - Osborne has been given the nod despite an underwhelming showing at fullback against the Welsh. Nash is very unlucky and this decision has, as expected, caused anger amongst Munster fans at the fact that another Leinster player has been picked ahead of a Munster player who many would argue is a more natural fit. There is obviously some left over resentment from the treatment of Crowley due to the emergence of Prendergast at fly-half. However, there is a notable logic to this decision.
Most teams like to have two creators and many use their 10 and 15 to do those jobs but Hugo Keenan is not a very creative fullback so Mack Hansen is a key creative piece in the Irish back line. Calvin Nash is a more classical winger. He is an excellent finisher and a good runner but Osborne brings a play-making ability which Ireland may otherwise be missing. And, given the choice to select a 6-2 bench, his ability to play across the back line is a valuable asset to Ireland who need more forward options to counter the 7-forward bench chosen by Fabien Galthie.
As I just mentioned, Fabien Galthie has selected seven forwards on the bench once again after successfully using that tactic to destroy Italy in Rome. Marchand, Baille and Aldegheri are a scary prospect to face when they enter the game in the second half. This French pack has an abundance of power and will be a deadly force for the entirety of the game. Their physicality is unmatched in the Northern hemisphere but Ireland are strong and more cohesive. It will be a battle of French Power versus Irish organisation up front.
There are a couple of big names returning for Les Bleus; Romain Ntamack and Damian Penaud return to the team for this monumental clash. Ntamack coming straight back in is not a surprise due to Jalibert not performing to Galthie's expectations. Penaud, on the other hand, was not a guaranteed addition to the team. Theo Attissogbe would be right to feel quite hard-done-by given his two performances in this tournament have resulted in four tries and two wins. However, Penaud is a premier winger in World rugby so is difficult to drop consistently, particularly in a game of this magnitude.
My Prediction
Ireland 27 vs 29 France
Ireland are favourites for this game but France are definitely capable of blowing away any team in the world. I expect this game to be close and a great watch. I will admit, I am not confident one way or the other so i have succumbed to my English bias and picked a result that favours my home country.
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