Ireland v France will be the highest-calibre game in Six Nations history
We are only into the second week of this Six Nations but the suspicion that we may be about to experience its high watermark is getting stronger all the time.
Ireland versus France has all the makings of an absolute humdinger. The world’s No 1 ranked team against the world’s No 2 ranked team. Both on unbeaten runs. Both eyeing up a Grand Slam – a second successive one in France’s case.
This really should be the game of the tournament. The Championship decider. It will not be a done deal for the winner this weekend, but whoever comes out on top must surely be favoured to go all the way.
That might sound disrespectful to England, Wales and Scotland. Italy, too. All are capable of challenging the top two on their day. Italy pushed France mighty close in Rome last weekend lest we forget.
But the stats do not lie. These two are miles ahead of the rest, both on paper and on the pitch.
In terms of official world rankings, the next highest placed northern hemisphere team is Scotland who leapfrogged England into fifth place after beating the Auld Enemy at Twickenham last Saturday.
But you do not need World Rugby’s rankings algorithm to know what you can see with your own eyes. Both France and Ireland have deep squads, enviable continuity and are playing with huge confidence.
In fact, you could make a strong case that this could be the highest quality game in the tournament’s history, let alone this year’s tournament. Certainly in the Six Nations era. How often have we seen the world’s top two teams square off against each other?
Who wins? The bookies say Ireland, no doubt due to home advantage. But you can make a case either way.
France have Antoine Dupont, probably the best player in the world, in their ranks. The Toulouse star pulls the strings behind a monstrous pack anchored by Grégory Alldritt, while outside him he has the quality of Romain Ntamack, now a seasoned professional at 23, plus a mixture of playmakers and lethal strike runners.
‘The French are confident – be wary when they are confident’
Former Ireland fly-half Ronan O’Gara, who knows French rugby inside out as head coach of La Rochelle, having previously spent four years with Racing 92, says he certainly would not be reading too much into France’s patchy opening-day performance in Rome. He says Ireland cannot afford to cough up ball.
“Italy, for long periods, caused France trouble but undid it with an absolute crazy offload that was never on, or a dropped ball, or a poor decision,” O’Gara told Sky Sports this week. “France are deadly on turnover ball. That’s what they love in Top 14 and that’s what they love at Test level. You can see the French camp is confident, and be wary of the French when they’re confident.”
O’Gara added that France have added real professionalism to their traditional panache, noting their increased use of performance analytics tools to measure fitness and effort. The defensive intensity and organisation brought by Shaun Edwards is an “interesting blend”.
‘The World Cup in France has clearly become a Holy Grail’
Most importantly, though, O’Gara noted that the buy-in from France’s top players had changed massively under Fabien Galthié. The Rugby World Cup in France this autumn has clearly become a Holy Grail.
“It was unbelievable to think when I was coaching at Racing that you had some guys you’d hear that weren’t interested in going to French camp,” O’Gara said. “Now it’s the complete opposite – they’d run the 200 kilometres from La Rochelle to get to French camp.”
This is what Ireland are up against. But Andy Farrell’s men are the bookies favourites for a reason. They have developed a hard edge since 2019. They look and sound far more self-assured. More relaxed, too.
Farrell’s decision to confirm earlier this week that Tadhg Furlong, the world’s best tighthead, and Jamison Gibson-Park, who has brought tempo to the team since becoming first-choice scrum-half, would both be missing this weekend, was intriguing.
Joe Schmidt would almost certainly have kept their fitness a closely-guarded secret until the final possible moment, trying to make his opposite number second guess his selection.
The New Zealander used to conduct the IRFU version of the Spanish Inquisition when team news leaked out ahead of time.
‘Ireland have the crowd – but Farrell has lost all three meetings with France’
Farrell has taken a different approach: trust the players you have available, embrace the pressure of being world No 1.
The absence of Dan Sheehan on Saturday is arguably the biggest loss of all. The Leinster hooker was magnificent again against Wales last time out. But Ireland have an incredible pack. They are still marshalled by the evergreen Johnny Sexton. They still have the uber-consistent Hugo Keenan in the backfield. They still have pace and power out wide, where James Lowe’s return is a boon. The New Zealand-born wing provides a bit of X Factor as well as a booming left boot.
It is an incredibly difficult match to call. Ireland will have the crowd. But for all Farrell’s incredible success with the men in green – the series win in New Zealand last summer, the wins over Australia and South Africa – the Englishman has lost all three meetings with France since taking the Ireland reins in 2019.
One thing is for sure, with a possible Six Nations on the line, as well as the world No 1 ranking (a win or even a draw would see France usurp Ireland), it is going to be feisty. The French press are already dubbing the fixture ‘the new crunch’.
There is a long way to go in this tournament, but this could well be as good as it gets.
