France v Ireland: Preview and Line Ups

France v Ireland: Preview and Line Ups

The final game of the 2020 Six Nations sees a hopeful Ireland travelling to Stade de France to tackle Fabien Galthie’s charges.

 

Ireland occupy top spot on the log with 14 points with France and England breathing down their neck with 13 apiece.

 

The Irish thus have a real chance of lifting the trophy this year and, under the experienced leadership of stalwart fly-half Jonathan Sexton, it will be a steely-spined unit that throws themselves at the French.


 

France started their campaign off with a bang, beating England in Round 1 before brushing aside the Italians 35-22 the following week. In Round 3, Les Bleus snuck home against the Welsh before suffering their first defeat of the tournament – at the hands of the Scots –in Round 4.


 
 
 
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This is set to be a cracker!! 🇫🇷☘️ #GuinnessSixNations #FRAvIRE

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Ireland have also tasted defeat only once in the current tournament- against the English in Round 3 when they were out-muscled at Twickenham. Before that, they took care of their Scotland and Wales fixtures with aplomb and, most recently, put fifty points on Italy last weekend in Round 4.

 

The history between these two proud rugby nations favours the French, who have emerged victorious in 56 of the 98 encounters while the Irish have 35 victories under the belt with seven draws occurring.

 

This one promises to be a cracker of a game as both sides still stand a chance of taking the title (although, admittedly, France’s chance is an outside one), but also, in this competition there is always much pride on the line. While the Irish are expected to exhibit a determination which will render them hard to live with, the French, on their day, can be a class outfit who can mix it up with the world’s finest.

 

Pay close attention to the superb battle on the cards between the halves; Romain Ntamack vs Johnny Sexton in the fly-half channel while Antoine Dupont contends with Conor Murray around the fringes.  

 

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