Beware the bite of hungry Irish, warns Lièvremont
The French opened their campaign with an 18-9 win against Scotland at Murrayfield but Lièvremont is convinced his side will have to substantially improve on last weekend if they are to win against the Grand Slam champions
“They’re an impressive team,” said Lièvremont of Declan Kidney’s charges.
“I compared Scotland to New Zealand (last week) but the Irish make me think more of the Australians.
“They might perhaps be less attractive or spectacular than the New Zealanders or the Welsh but they are frighteningly effective and give very little away to the opposition.
“They’ve been one of the least penalised teams in international rugby for the last few seasons.”
There are just two injury enforced changes in his starting side from last week. Vincent Clerc is in for Aurelien Rougerie, who was injured just minutes into Sunday’s game while Alex Palisson replaces Benjamin Fall.
Both wingers are known more for their speed than their brawn and Lièvremont admitted that Ireland’s strength up front could well see the home side change towards a more expansive game plan.
He added: “We’re going to try and avoid the zones very close to the ruck where the Irish are extremely aggressive and well organised. We’ll need our backs and forwards to bind together a bit more.
“It’ll be necessary to see a jump in quality at all levels even if I thought our presence and aggression at ruck time was fine. We will have to do more (than last week).
“They’ve had great players that have been around for years in O’Connell, Wallace, O’Gara and O’Driscoll.
“But they’ve also discovered a few young players which has allowed them to develop a more complete type of play — guys like Tommy Bowe and Jamie Heaslip, who is probably the best number eight in the world.”
Lièvremont believes that the big change in Ireland’s fortunes in the last few years has been their ability to build success upon success.
“They are a team that were lost for a long time until 2008 with a generation that everyone thought were golden. They started tasting victory, notably with Munster. Then they got a taste for it. Then you had another Irish province win in Europe last year again. Ireland’s attention to detail and pragmatism is impressive. No doubt they’ll arrive in Paris with the appetite of an ogre.”
Backs coach Emile Ntamack believes how France deal with central duo Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy could prove crucial. He said: “Their two centres are formidable. They are instinct players who can play in all styles.
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