Whelan: We won’t sit back

IT’S the kind of occasion that has the potential to unnerve the most experienced of pros but Glenn Whelan insists that all the pressure will be on France rather than Ireland when the sides meet at Croke Park tonight.

By reaching the play-offs, Ireland have already defied the expectations of a ranking system which placed them in the third tier of countries when the qualification draw was made.

France too have strayed from the script.