Jamie Heaslip v Louis Picamoles
TWO NUMBER EIGHTS who we would ordinarily expect to be riding high among Europe’s elite.
Yet neither Jamie Heaslip nor his opposite number have been able to carry their teams across the winning line as much as they are accustomed to. Neither though, have they been quite as bad as some would have you believe.
Heaslip’s problems appear to stem, in the main, from moments of indecision apparently instilled by his new role of captain. The number of penalties against his name along with his yards gained to carries ratio, leaves him with little to show for what at times has been a Trojan effort at the breakdown.
Louis Picamoles will provide the Ireland captain with his biggest (in more ways than one) Six Nations challenge yet. The Toulouse back row is capable of shrugging off even the most efficient of tacklers.
And with Ireland’s scrum in for a rough day, Ireland’s captain will be tasked with preventing Picamoles making huge amounts of hay
Conor Murray v Morgan Parra
Forget Freddy Michalak. If France are to win on Lansdowne Road then they will be looking to their number nine to dictate the pace. Morgan Parra is among the finest half backs in the world, and his omission from France’s early games was a baffling move.
And yet Philippe Saint-Andre gave more heads reason to scratch when he replaced Parra with Maxime Machenaud after 65 minutes in Twickenham. The game went from ‘in the balance’ to ‘England’s to lose’ within the mad coach’s call.
On top of Parra’s endless class, he loves playing in Lansdowne Road. He was close to flawless in Clermont’s December Heineken Cup win over Leinster and indellibly etched his name in every Irish supporter’s mind with his kicking accuracy in this fixture two years ago.
Murray has a size advantage and has visibly grown into a leadership role for both club and country in the past four months.
Today is an opportunity to throw his weight around, play spoiler when possible in the hope of throwing Parra off his game. Take a dent out of his confidence and that magic left boot just might start to wobble.
©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Luke Marshall v Wesley Fofana
The best centre in Europe matching up against Ireland’s great white (or just very, very blonde) hope.
Marshall impressed on his debut and found gaps easy to come by in the early exchanges in Murrayfield. Today, he will be tested without the ball.
Wesley Fofana is patient yet ruthless when it comes to picking gaps. His step off either foot and acceleration can make even the smallest chink of light turn into seven points.
Marshall’s first outing was encouraging, but this is a completely new level of rugby and he will have to improve again. For a start, he has a decent kicking range which he never used in Edinburgh. Used correctly, that could be invaluable, lending a hand to his mate in the number 10 shirt.
