McCloskey hits it up in midfield from the lineout on halfway

Box kick from Dupont away to touch

Prendergast gets the match underway for Ireland, taken up by Guillard

Anthems concluded and kickoff is just moments away

Allez irlande.

The sides have made their way out onto the field, anthems to follow

Defending champions France host Ireland in the opening round of the 2026 Six Nations Championship. Both sides won four of their five matches in last year's tournament, with France taking the title by a single point over England and Ireland finishing a further point back in third spot. Head to head these teams have met on 104 occasions, with France winning 60 to the 37 by Ireland to go along with seven draws. Last year in this encounter, France ran out 42-27 victors.