Ronan O’Gara: Here are the questions - Have France and Ireland the answers?
Gaël Fickou of France is tackled by Robbie Henshaw and Ross Byrne of Ireland during the Guinness Six Nations at the Aviva Stadium last year. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
I heard that mentioned on local radio here last week and reckoned I’d have to check the veracity of it for myself. Which event do we pay greatest attention to when assessing the favourites for this year’s renewal: That it’s 11 years since they won it? France’s defeat of the All Blacks last November, a first win in Paris over New Zealand since 1973? Or that, from today, it’s 581 days to the 2023 World Cup which they host? They are all significant in their own way in addressing the French question. After the 40-25 win last November, they took to a lap of honour around the ground, the media reaction the following morning feeding into the sense that France had won a World Cup final. Everyone seemed happy to overlook the fact that New Zealand were mid-cycle, and hence at their weakest. French confidence is like that third glass of wine – it can tip them over from confidence to losing the run of themselves.
