Pierre: Clash ‘will be like war’

FRANCE second row Julien Pierre has predicted Sunday’s clash between the Grand Slam champions and Ireland at the Aviva Stadium “will be like war”.

Pierre wins his 14th cap in the second row alongside veteran Lionel Nallet after playing a starring role in last weekend’s 34-21 victory over the Scots but the Clermont Auvergne lock believes France will have to improve to win in Dublin.

“This could be the decisive match of the tournament,” declared Pierre. “We knew that we needed to win against Scotland but we have to turn the page now. It’s Ireland so it’s going to be another thing altogether.”

While inevitably, much has been made of the performance of France’s threequarters in last weekend’s game in comparison to Ireland’s faltering backs in Rome, Pierre believes that the game will be won and lost up front in the forwards.

The Grand Slam winners’ set-piece was another impressive factor in their performance against the Scots and while there is little doubt about the supremacy of the French scrum, the 29-year-old lock said they had pinpointed Munster talisman Paul O’Connell as the key threat to the French lineout.

“O’Connell is one of the biggest talents in the world,” said Pierre. “He’s been unfortunate with injury and missed a lot of last year so maybe he’s still trying to find his proper rhythm and his best form. But in terms of his experience, he’s a massively important part of the Irish team.’’

Pierre was part of the Clermont side beaten 24-8 by Leinster at the Aviva Stadium back in January and he admitted those memories had given him more than a little motivation for Sunday’s clash.

“The Leinster match was a big disappointment for us at Clermont. There was definitely a feeling that we threw it away and it remains the disappointment of the season for me so I’m sure I’ll be thinking about that a little. In terms of what I’m looking forward to — firstly (the Aviva) is a beautiful stadium. The atmosphere was fantastic at that game and we’ll expect the same this weekend.”

Pierre admitted that training this week had focused on building on the positives from the Scotland result.

He added: “I think that it was with our game continuity where we were successful. We have been working on our phases and continuity and we’ll be looking it again.