FOR A SIDE Ireland found notoriously difficult to crack down the years, it’s hard to believe it’s more than four years since they’ve been beaten by Les Blues.
Ireland are unbeaten in their last four games against the French, and if you include the postponed Six Nations game from 2012, you can call it five (I mean, technically Ireland didn’t lose, right?).
After back to back draws, wins in Paris and this year in Dublin have meant that Ireland go into this weekend’s pool decider with Phillipe Saint Andre’s side in a rare position of power against France.
And with the quarter final permutations available, Sunday’s meeting is arguably the sides’ most important duel in recent years.
We’ve cast our eye over the match-up and picked out three areas Joe Schmidt will be looking to exploit.
The wings
It’s a hard life being an Irish winger at the moment, such is the talent available to Joe Schmidt. Dave Kearney, Keith Earls and Simon Zebo are all hitting form at the right time, and even Tommy Bowe is starting to look like his old self after a difficult warm-up period.
France on the other hand have looked vulnerable on the wings, and the loss of Yoann Hugent can’t be overlooked. Maxime Medard’s exclusion from the squad means that France are going with real inexperience out wide, with Remy Grosso, Sofiane Guituone and Noa Nakaitai all new to test rugby.
Brice Dulin has also filled in on the wing, and he has looked less than comfortable out of his favoured position of fullback.
Ireland have played with a lot of width so far in the tournament, and although they’ve dominated against lesser opposition, stretching that French defense high up the pitch could allow Ireland’s in-form wingers pounce.
Missed tackles have been a bit of a concern for France with 15 of them in France’s defeat of Italy.
The gaps are there if Ireland look for them.
The penalty count
When Ireland beat France during the 2015 Six Nation earlier this year, the sharp boots of Johnny Sexton and Ian Madigan was all that was needed.
Ireland never crossed the whitewash in the 18-11 win, with six penalties filling up their scorecard.
And exploiting the French indiscipline could again be key this weekend. With 16 conceded against Italy on the opening night and 13 penalties given away against Romania, more indiscipline will hand Ireland a target to attack from.
Whether it yields a kick at goal or to touch, France can’t afford to keep the penalty count this high, with Ireland under Joe Schmidt being so strong at setpieces.
Sexton will kick it between the sticks all day, while Ireland have looked sharp in attack with their pre-rehearsed mauls and backline moves directly from lineouts.
If France give Ireland the platform, they can definitely take advantage.
The kicking game
Ireland’s kicking game, and by association their kick chase has been a major part of Joe Schmidt’s gameplan.
Conor Murray’s box-kicking and Johnny Sexton’s up-and-unders are regularly placed perfectly, and the chasing from the back three means that Ireland can immediately contest possession further up the pitch rather than face an immediate counter attack.
It was a major part of the Six Nations victories against England and France during the Six Nations, and there’s no reason why Schmidt won’t use it again.
With the French wingers inexperienced, testing their mettle with a few well placed high balls could rattle them early on.
Even Canada left them rattled in the air, with Ciaran Hearn claiming a huge kickoff in the build-up to DTH van der Merwe’s try.
The Rugby World Cup is, like our Samsung products, enjoyed all over the world. There are over two millions spectators and 400,000 international travelling fans descending on England this month.
Make sure you capture and share every moment in the best quality possible, by choosing Samsung. For more information, visit our Facebook page.
