Ireland vs France - Preview

VS

The banana skin that is the French side travel to Ireland on Saturday looking to show off more than what they were limited to at home in the opening weekend against Scotland. The Irish also have a point to prove after a less-than-impressive performance against a determined Italian side, and with the return of Jonny Sexton, Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip, with Cian Healy on the bench, they will definitely have more to offer in attack than they did against the Azzurri. We expect to see a drastic improvement from the Irish side with these inclusions, if we don't then this game could cast doubts on their potential to retain their 6 Nations title. The 29 year old fly half will look to lead his Irish side to an important home victory against the French side who only scored from Camille Lopez's boot last weekend.

If the Irish get going then they could see this as a 15 point victory, however they need to show a lot more than they did in Rome, which should be easy with the return of their notable injured players. Fofana is a dangerous player for the French and they will have to look out for him and Teddy Thomas, who made my team of the week, who can cause problems for anyone, even the Irish at home. Guirado was another impressive player for the French, and Ben Arous comes into the fold, a solid prop who has looked good at domestic level. The Irish pack should be able to deal with this however, but will keep an eye out for Dusautoir who will make a nuisance of himself around the park, disturbing the breakdown and limiting Irish quick ball.

An interesting game ahead, maybe not the most thrilling game of the tournament but it all depends on how the French play, we often see them fired up for the big games, and they don't come much bigger in this tournament than away at the reigning champions. Ireland by 15 is my prediction, Sexton playing his part in the Irish attack as he always does, creating opportunities and allowing the Irish to show-off the part of their game that lacked against Italy in front of an expectant home crowd.