IF the objective of Saturday’s game against France was to dampen Irish expectations on the eve of the World Cup then it had the desired effect. This performance was not on the agenda.

CAN anyone stop the French Top 14 financial juggernaut? It’s a loaded question.

FRANCE coach Marc Lièvremont has apologised for comments made in the wake of Les Bleus’ shock Six Nations loss to Italy on Saturday.

WELL, who would have imagined that? Ireland outscore France by three tries to one and walk off the pitch beaten men.

LEINSTER’S ambition of a home Heineken Cup quarter-final spot has been facilitated by another weakened Racing Metro selection for tonight’s final Pool 2 clash at Stade Yves Du Manoir in Paris.

Leinster coach Joe Schmidt has named his side for Friday night’s Heineken Cup match against Racing-Métro 92 at the Stade Yves du Manoir, kick-off 8pm.

Racing Metro 14 Saracens 19

THE contrasting fortunes of Tony McGahan and Joe Schmidt heading into the crucial back-to-back rounds of the Heineken Cup could not be highlighted more forcibly than by the selection dilemmas facing both men this week.

LEINSTER’S Devin Toner was the tallest man on the pitch during his sides Heineken Cup victory over French Super 14 league leaders Racing Metro on Saturday.

SEBASTIAN Chabal, the French human wrecking ball left his mark on the ribs of Leinster’s Jamie Heaslip within 30 seconds of kick-off in Saturday’s Heineken Cup clash at the RDS, but then found diminutive Leinster winger Isa Nacewa more than a match for him.

LEINSTER hope to have learned a lesson about flogging a dead horse as they prepare for the opening Heineken Cup game of the season against Racing Metro at the RDS today (1.30pm).

Out-half Jonathan Sexton will start for Leinster against Racing-Metro in Pool 2 of the Heineken Cup at The RDS tomorrow afternoon (1.30pm).

Lionel Nallet talks to Ian Moriarty about Racing Metro’s ambitions in their first Heineken Cup.

IF DECLAN KIDNEY is keen to present fresh challenges to his high-achieving national squad, then Saturday’s crunch clash against France fits the bill perfectly. With just a solitary win in the French capital in the past 38 years, conquering the Stade de France this weekend is a potential fast-track to glory.

ONE EVENING, while I was relaxing at home on my couch, I got a phone call out of the blue from Rua Tipoki. We had never set foot on the pitch together, but mutual respect meant we often consulted each other for an opinion. Munster were to play the All Blacks in about a week and rumours were flying that a Red Haka would take place.

PAUL O’CONNELL’S value to the Munster cause has rarely been more apparent than the manner in which he skippered the side against the Ospreys on Friday night.

BOTH Tony McGahan and Michael Cheika can enjoy a brief period of positive reflection as the Heineken Cup takes a short hiatus until December. The events of last weekend in particular not only bode well for the two provinces but Irish rugby as a whole.

SAINT-ANDRE already eyeing quarter-final berth!

IT CAN’T end like this, blared the headline in a French newspaper yesterday, and they were right. France thumped Ireland and Les Bleus have recovered the ground lost in their opening defeat to Argentina.

YOU were forewarned by Bernard Laporte himself. Last week, quizzed on his selection of Sebastian Chabal at lock, the French coach simply said Chabal could offer his team certain things that Jerome Thion and Fabien Pelous couldn’t. Certainly neither Thion nor Pelous could have scored Chabal’s rampaging second try last Sunday night against Namibia, but then there’s hardly a second-row in the world who could.

THE two surprises in the French team for tonight’s game see David Marty preferred to Yannick Jauzion in the centre and Sebastian Chabal’s selection in the second-row.

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN’S neck — not to mention his job — is not necessarily on the line at the Stade de France tonight. But his stature as Ireland’s most successful coach will take a battering if his team fails to hugely improve on recent performances, all the more so should the gamble of pairing the untried Eoin Reddan with an out of sorts Ronan O’Gara at half-back prove a failure.

FRANCE coach Bernard Laporte named his side yesterday to face Ireland in tomorrow’s crunch Rugby World Cup clash in the Stade de France, and there were a number of surprises.

FRANCE coach Bernard Laporte names his team today to face Ireland in Friday’s crunch Rugby World Cup game, having postponed the announcement by 24 hours.

The general impression seems to be that Ireland are in danger of a hiding on Friday when they take on France in the Rugby World Cup in Paris. Michael Moynihan looked for reasons to be cheerful. And in the interests of balance, reasons to be fearful.

WORLD Cup hosts France took out nine days of pent-up frustration on Namibia with a resounding victory that will have drawn nervous glances from Ireland last night.

THE ALL BLACKS have been forced to call up the seventh and eighth locks on their pecking order yesterday, after Ali Williams and Keith Robinson joined a growing list of seriously injured middle row forwards.

ITALY flanker Mauro Bergamasco will miss Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Ireland after receiving a four-week ban for punching Wales captain Stephen Jones.

TWO POINTS is no longer the most dangerous lead when time is running out in Croke Park. Ireland were four up with time nearly up in yesterday’s historic Six Nations clash with France only to see Vincent Clerc score a sensational match-winning try.

A SPORTS-MAD youngster born in Cashel and brought up in Boherlan-Dualla wouldn’t be normal if he hadn’t dreamt of playing in Croke Park.

IF IRELAND’S opening Six Nations clash with Wales had the feel of a potential banana skin, then Sunday’s historic duel with the French is even more fraught with danger.

THE story of Munster’s march on Europe is familiar to us all. It has been captured through the medium of print, radio, television and most recently three specific books.

PHILIPPE Saint-Andre has challenged English champions Sale Sharks to “kick-start” their Heineken Cup campaign tonight by collecting a maximum points haul against minnows Calvisano.

Philippe Saint-Andre has challenged English champions Sale Sharks to “kick-start” their Heineken Cup campaign tomorrow night by collecting a maximum points haul against minnows Calvisano.

EVERYWHERE you go it’s the same. Since the tremendous victory over Leinster, interest in Munster’s quest for European fulfilment has been phenomenal.

SUFFICE to say we have never seen an inter-provincial to match this one.

MY momma told me there’d be days like this and, boy, how appropriate are the words when applied to a frenzied Thomond Park on Saturday night.

WHAT an extraordinary, uplifting weekend for Irish rugby. Even Connacht sneaked through the backdoor to take a quarter-final place in the European Challenge Cup.

DIFFICULT to know what to make of Sale Sharks after their stuttering 30-10 Heineken Cup win over the Gwent Dragons on Sunday.

GWENT Dragons coach Paul Turner insists his team can still have a decisive influence over Heineken Cup Pool One, despite propping up the table.

THERE’S €150,000 riding on Mark Cueto’s ability to continue his scoring spree through to the end of the season.