Minds, bodies and movement
From a psychological perspective, there were times when Ireland had this fixture lost before the plane left Dublin airport. Thankfully those days are long gone. There were other occasions, such as 1998, when predictions of a record defeat induced such a fear factor that the Irish side responded magnificently and went desperately close to an historic win before losing 18-16. That performance set the ground rules for the win in 2000. Gordon D'Arcy was quick to set the tone in the aftermath of the Welsh defeat when he declared âour senior players have all come back stronger from adversity and shown people what we are made of. The one thing you couldn't say about this team is that we're mentally weakâ.
The timing of this game could not be worse with a minimum six day turnaround from that demoralising loss on Sunday. The challenge for the Irish management this week was to make sure that the demons associated with that loss were banished as quickly as possible. It is vital that memories of Munster and Leinster victories on French soil against many of todayâs opponents are at the forefront of players' minds.
Even the Ulster contingent who played against six of today's match day squad in that narrow defeat away to Clermont Auvergne last month will realise that, as always, there is a vulnerability to the French that must be exploited. If Tonga can beat France in a World Cup, then Ireland can win in Paris. There is repeated evidence to suggest that when this particular group of French players are put under pressure, hassled and harried and not given time and space to perform, they retreat into their shells. Ireland may quickly develop the mindset that creates that type of mayhem. The Stade de France has a history of turning on its own and Ireland must have the self belief, confidence and ruthlessness to create such an environment. It is all about getting to the final quarter of the game with the contest still in the balance.
This will be far greater to master than the mental one discussed above. If Ireland felt battered by the sheer size of the Welsh backs on Sunday then they had better prepare for an even bigger assault tonight. Like the Welsh, France possess a potent physical threat across their back line through François Trinh-Duc, Aurélien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu.
However, traditionally they prefer to rely on flair and finesse rather than brute force to open up the opposition backline. This should help Ireland defensively. It would aid the Irish cause if they employed a blitz defence, defending from the outside in and employing far greater line speed than was evident on Sunday. If they drift against this backline, steering them close to the touchline, they are inviting trouble. France are masters of overloading the blindside as a means of attack. The starting point for Ireland's challenge today must be set by their line speed in defence and in their physicality at the breakdown.
Of even greater concern to me today is the size and bulk of the French up front. The back row has been bolstered further by the introduction of Imanol Harinordoquy alongside the ever improving Louis Picamoles while in 22-year-old lock Yoann Maestri, France have unearthed another monster with the capacity to terrorise Ireland for a decade to come. For good measure they have retained former captain Lionel Nallet on the bench to add further ballast in the last 20 minutes.
The French pack only played in fits and starts against Italy last Saturday and by introducing all four of his bench forwards from that game, Philippe Saint-André has immediately freshened his pack while the four relegated to the replacements will be desperate to prove a point. Their impact could be significant with three World Cup finalists set to be introduced up front alone. Ireland simply doesn't have that type of impact to spring. That could be reflected in the key set piece battle.
The set piece challenge today could not be further removed from what Ireland faced against Wales six days ago. Short four of their first choice front five, Wales set out tactically to avoid any set piece confrontation against their hosts and succeeded spectacularly. There were only five scrums in the game with Conor Murray confined to just two scrum feeds. Wales also denied Ireland the opportunity to build from their famed lineout platform by refusing to kick to touch, reducing Rory Best to five lineout throws.
France are also conscious of the threat posed by the Irish lineout but will set about impacting on that differently to the Welsh by taking them on at source. Imanol Harinordoquy was always going to be re-introduced for this game for that reason alone. In all of France's recent wins over Ireland, the Biarritz destroyer has been a thorn in the Irish lineout. Now in tandem with Maestri, Pascal Pape and Thierry Dusautoir, France have multiple options on their throw and will give Harinordoquy a roving role to attack Ireland in the air on every Best delivery.
Saint-Andre has also recalled Jean-Baptiste Poux at loose head to wear Mike Ross down in the scrum before introducing the gargantuan Vincent Debaty to wreak havoc in the final quarter. On the plus side William Servat starts on the bench and his replacement at hooker Dimitri Szarzewski can be erratic in his primary duties. He needs to be pressurised and subdued in the set piece to take the sting out of his dynamic broken field play.
France would like to turn this game into a set piece slugfest but Ireland need to take a leaf out of the Welsh template from last weekend and deny their hosts the chance to impose their will from there. Ireland are fitter and better conditioned and need to shift this French pack around the field. To win in Paris, Ireland must play smarter than they did in Dublin. Dictate the terms of engagement up front and they have a chance. Keep France guessing, break up the lineout and get the ball into the hands of Sean OâBrien, Stephen Ferris, Cian Healy and Paul OâConnell with far greater regularity than they managed last weekend. Above all they must be far more ruthless in clearing out bodies at the ruck which will put the French on the back foot. Achieve that and they have a chance.
Otherwise it will be more of what we have come to expect when Ireland visit Paris in the spring.
