FRANCE DEFENCE COACH Shaun Edwards has described playing Ireland in Dublin as the toughest assignment in northern hemisphere rugby ahead of tomorrow’s blockbuster Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium.
Edwards joined France captain Antoine Dupont for a media briefing at the stadium today after the visitors had completed their Captain’s Run earlier this afternoon.
Interestingly, Dupont was wearing the number 13 bib for the session, running at centre in preparation for a scenario where injuries force Fabien Galthié to reshuffle his backline tomorrow. Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu is the only back included in France’s 7/1 bench split.
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Shaun Edwards and Antoine Dupont. Rory Barker / INPHO
Rory Barker / INPHO / INPHO
The decision to opt for a 7/1 split comes loaded with risk but France will hope to keep the devasting Dupont in his most effective, regular place at scrum-half, as they look to beat Ireland for the first time since the 2022 Six Nations.
“It’s the ultimate challenge in the northern hemisphere, to come to Dublin and win, without a shadow of a doubt,” said Edwards.
“In the last two years they’ve been absolutely marvellous, haven’t they, and great to watch as well, and yeah we’ve all been preparing hard.
I’ve been listening to Thin Lizzy all week, and U2, watching Steve Collins fights from the 90s, so I feel ready.”
Earlier this week, French football icon Thierry Henry visited the French camp to offer some words of wisdom, and while his infamous handball against Ireland in 2010 came up in conversation, Dupont says they didn’t spend too much time discussing the incident.
“There is no link between his visit and the game but most of the conversation, we talked about performance, high level, how we can deal with the pressure, the weight and the importance of the game.
“I think he has a lot of experience, I hope he has inspired us for this weekend. But we didn’t talk a lot about the handball.”
Dupont captains France at scrum-half tomorrow and is joined in the halfbacks by Romain Ntamack, who is back at 10 following his two-game ban, with the Toulouse pair due to start their 29th Test together for France.
“We know each other very well for a long time now,” Dupont said of Ntamack.
“I think it’s important for the team as well. He knows the system very well. He’s a warrior as well as Gregory (Alldritt). I think his defence will be very important tomorrow.”
Dupont was also asked about Ireland’s in-form scrum-half, Jamison Gibson-Park.
“He has been playing very well for several seasons now. He is very well-received, both with Leinster and the Irish team. We can feel that he has an impact on this team. He can be decisive in almost every game. As he is a key player, we know that these positions are always important. It will be up to us to be vigilant.”
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'We didn’t talk a lot about the handball' - Dupont on Henry's visit to France camp
FRANCE DEFENCE COACH Shaun Edwards has described playing Ireland in Dublin as the toughest assignment in northern hemisphere rugby ahead of tomorrow’s blockbuster Six Nations clash at the Aviva Stadium.
Edwards joined France captain Antoine Dupont for a media briefing at the stadium today after the visitors had completed their Captain’s Run earlier this afternoon.
Interestingly, Dupont was wearing the number 13 bib for the session, running at centre in preparation for a scenario where injuries force Fabien Galthié to reshuffle his backline tomorrow. Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu is the only back included in France’s 7/1 bench split.
The decision to opt for a 7/1 split comes loaded with risk but France will hope to keep the devasting Dupont in his most effective, regular place at scrum-half, as they look to beat Ireland for the first time since the 2022 Six Nations.
“It’s the ultimate challenge in the northern hemisphere, to come to Dublin and win, without a shadow of a doubt,” said Edwards.
“In the last two years they’ve been absolutely marvellous, haven’t they, and great to watch as well, and yeah we’ve all been preparing hard.
Earlier this week, French football icon Thierry Henry visited the French camp to offer some words of wisdom, and while his infamous handball against Ireland in 2010 came up in conversation, Dupont says they didn’t spend too much time discussing the incident.
“There is no link between his visit and the game but most of the conversation, we talked about performance, high level, how we can deal with the pressure, the weight and the importance of the game.
“I think he has a lot of experience, I hope he has inspired us for this weekend. But we didn’t talk a lot about the handball.”
Dupont captains France at scrum-half tomorrow and is joined in the halfbacks by Romain Ntamack, who is back at 10 following his two-game ban, with the Toulouse pair due to start their 29th Test together for France.
“We know each other very well for a long time now,” Dupont said of Ntamack.
“I think it’s important for the team as well. He knows the system very well. He’s a warrior as well as Gregory (Alldritt). I think his defence will be very important tomorrow.”
Dupont was also asked about Ireland’s in-form scrum-half, Jamison Gibson-Park.
“He has been playing very well for several seasons now. He is very well-received, both with Leinster and the Irish team. We can feel that he has an impact on this team. He can be decisive in almost every game. As he is a key player, we know that these positions are always important. It will be up to us to be vigilant.”
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