THE FACT IRELAND are comfortable talking about their chances in Clermont tonight is proof in itself of the progress that has been made under Scott Bemand.
You have to go back to 2017 for the last time Ireland beat France, and some of those experiences have been harrowing ones. Being nilled in 2018. Shipping 47 points at home in 2019, and 56 on France’s next visit in 2021. In 2023, a wooden spoon year for Ireland, France came to Cork and won 53-3.
There was no hiding from the fact this was two teams operating on different levels.
Now, Ireland feel the gap has closed, and have solid evidence to support this belief. France won this fixture in Belfast last year but a 27-15 loss felt like one that got away – with Ireland trailing by just two points entering the final 10 minutes. Later that year, Bemand’s team lost a thrilling World Cup quarter-final in Exeter by five points, with the fallout dominated by Axelle Berthoumieu’s bite on Aoife Wafer which went unpunished on the day.
The hurt of that one has bled into this latest instalment, which kicks-off at the unusually late time of 9.10pm [8.10pm Irish time, Virgin Media Two/BBC iPlayer] – a new experience for many of this squad.
Captain Erin King says her team are searching for “revenge” against Les Bleus. Fullback Stacey Flood has warned the French they should be “worried” about what is coming their way tonight.
Strong words, which require a statement performance at the very least.
“I think we should have confidence going into this game,” says Flood.
Stacey Flood. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“I’m going to say third time lucky, but we’re making our own luck this weekend because we should have had them in the Six Nations last year, could have had them in the World Cup, so I think it’s about knowing what we can do and being brave and confident going into the game.
“So just knowing that we’ve grown from this time last year and from the World Cup to hopefully finish off a game with a win.”
Last weekend’s win in Galway should have tee’d them up nicely. Coming out of a 33-12 loss to England in round one, Bemand’s team were vibrant and accurate against Italy, scorching into a 45-10 lead at half-time and finishing with nine tries to their name.
There was confidence and variety across Ireland’s performance, with key players such as Aoife Wafer and Beibhinn Parsons at their game-breaking best.
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So too Dannah O’Brien, who kicked excellently despite the usual challenging wind blowing in from the Atlantic. Still only 22, O’Brien looks increasingly confident and calm at international level.
Tonight the Tullow native wins cap number 33 for Ireland, and if her team are to pull of something special at the Stade Marcel-Michelin, expect O’Brien to be at the heart of it. Arguably, she’s now the most important player to Bemand’s plans. In Ireland’s last four games [v Italy, England, and the 2025 World Cup meetings with France and New Zealand], O’Brien has been tasked with going the full 80.
“I think experience as a 10 is a huge part of it,” O’Brien says.
Dannah O'Brien. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“You just learn so much from different scenarios. Playing against the wind and stuff, just different international games give you different experiences and it’s kind of invaluable.
“But I think just the way the team has grown over the last few years, that’s helped me an awful lot as well. Because it’s just built consistency, and thankfully, I’ve been able to grow through that journey as well.
“I still feel like I’ve a lot of growing space. I’m still only 22 but I definitely do feel like I’ve grown into the position. And, thankfully, I’ve had good consistency and opportunities to grow in this squad. I feel like it’s still only the start, but there’s definitely a lot more to go.”
At the other end of the scale, you have an experienced head like Linda Djougang, one of just two players in tonight’s squad [along with Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald] to have passed the 50-cap mark.
Linda Djougang. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Tonight’s fixture will be a special one for Djougang. Back in 2021, a year before the first full-time professional contracts were introduced for women’s rugby players in Ireland, the prop signed up to go full-time for a season with Clermont-based ASM Romagnat Rugby.
“It feels like a second home,” Djougang admits.
“I’m really, really proud, to be honest, to go back home, see the girls in Clermont, go back and see the yellow and blue jersey. Yeah, it’s going to be a mixed feelings, really.
I feel like I built my core skills there, especially in the scrum because when I went I was really just breaking through into the Irish system.
“For me, it was really to just be [learning] with scrummaging, I’m still learning, I’m such a young prop, too, and it was just really gaining that experience and no better place to go than France to learn to just get that experience with the scrummaging and the way they think about the scrum.
“We can talk about it all day, but it’s just, I just love the way they play, the offload constantly, the French style is so different. They play such a different system compared to even England and all that. It’s just joué.
“It was really good for me to just be part of it and understand the culture.”
France have taken their time to find that joué over their opening wins of this championship. At half-time against Wales they were level 7-7 before going on to win 38-7, and a week later they turned a 5-0 half-time lead into a 40-7 defeat of Italy.
Ireland’s aim is to start fast in France, and then have the mental and physical edge required to stay the distance in the second half.
“We’ve got the benefit now with our group of having come through the World Cup piece where we had full stadiums, a lot of noise, lot of expectation, even if it’s like internal expectation,” says Bemand.
“Going away to France is a class experience. We were away in England two weeks ago, so we’ve had a recent opportunity of stepping into that sort of arena.
“I saw a completely different group to two years ago walking into that space. So as we continue to evolve, as we continue to get more confident in ourselves and our performances, I think we’re ready for this one.
“So this now becomes an excitement, an anticipation rather than nerves and of what could happen. So look, we’re ready for this, we’ve trained well this week, we’re now recovering, we travel, we’re going to enjoy it, the weather looks good over there, and we’ll be absolutely gunning to start and get out the blocks when the whistle goes on Saturday night.”
They’ve talked the talk. Now comes the hardest part.
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Ireland go to France with ambitions of breaking into Six Nations top two
THE FACT IRELAND are comfortable talking about their chances in Clermont tonight is proof in itself of the progress that has been made under Scott Bemand.
You have to go back to 2017 for the last time Ireland beat France, and some of those experiences have been harrowing ones. Being nilled in 2018. Shipping 47 points at home in 2019, and 56 on France’s next visit in 2021. In 2023, a wooden spoon year for Ireland, France came to Cork and won 53-3.
There was no hiding from the fact this was two teams operating on different levels.
Now, Ireland feel the gap has closed, and have solid evidence to support this belief. France won this fixture in Belfast last year but a 27-15 loss felt like one that got away – with Ireland trailing by just two points entering the final 10 minutes. Later that year, Bemand’s team lost a thrilling World Cup quarter-final in Exeter by five points, with the fallout dominated by Axelle Berthoumieu’s bite on Aoife Wafer which went unpunished on the day.
The hurt of that one has bled into this latest instalment, which kicks-off at the unusually late time of 9.10pm [8.10pm Irish time, Virgin Media Two/BBC iPlayer] – a new experience for many of this squad.
Captain Erin King says her team are searching for “revenge” against Les Bleus. Fullback Stacey Flood has warned the French they should be “worried” about what is coming their way tonight.
Strong words, which require a statement performance at the very least.
“I think we should have confidence going into this game,” says Flood.
“I’m going to say third time lucky, but we’re making our own luck this weekend because we should have had them in the Six Nations last year, could have had them in the World Cup, so I think it’s about knowing what we can do and being brave and confident going into the game.
“So just knowing that we’ve grown from this time last year and from the World Cup to hopefully finish off a game with a win.”
Last weekend’s win in Galway should have tee’d them up nicely. Coming out of a 33-12 loss to England in round one, Bemand’s team were vibrant and accurate against Italy, scorching into a 45-10 lead at half-time and finishing with nine tries to their name.
There was confidence and variety across Ireland’s performance, with key players such as Aoife Wafer and Beibhinn Parsons at their game-breaking best.
So too Dannah O’Brien, who kicked excellently despite the usual challenging wind blowing in from the Atlantic. Still only 22, O’Brien looks increasingly confident and calm at international level.
Tonight the Tullow native wins cap number 33 for Ireland, and if her team are to pull of something special at the Stade Marcel-Michelin, expect O’Brien to be at the heart of it. Arguably, she’s now the most important player to Bemand’s plans. In Ireland’s last four games [v Italy, England, and the 2025 World Cup meetings with France and New Zealand], O’Brien has been tasked with going the full 80.
“I think experience as a 10 is a huge part of it,” O’Brien says.
“You just learn so much from different scenarios. Playing against the wind and stuff, just different international games give you different experiences and it’s kind of invaluable.
“But I think just the way the team has grown over the last few years, that’s helped me an awful lot as well. Because it’s just built consistency, and thankfully, I’ve been able to grow through that journey as well.
“I still feel like I’ve a lot of growing space. I’m still only 22 but I definitely do feel like I’ve grown into the position. And, thankfully, I’ve had good consistency and opportunities to grow in this squad. I feel like it’s still only the start, but there’s definitely a lot more to go.”
At the other end of the scale, you have an experienced head like Linda Djougang, one of just two players in tonight’s squad [along with Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald] to have passed the 50-cap mark.
Tonight’s fixture will be a special one for Djougang. Back in 2021, a year before the first full-time professional contracts were introduced for women’s rugby players in Ireland, the prop signed up to go full-time for a season with Clermont-based ASM Romagnat Rugby.
“It feels like a second home,” Djougang admits.
“I’m really, really proud, to be honest, to go back home, see the girls in Clermont, go back and see the yellow and blue jersey. Yeah, it’s going to be a mixed feelings, really.
“For me, it was really to just be [learning] with scrummaging, I’m still learning, I’m such a young prop, too, and it was just really gaining that experience and no better place to go than France to learn to just get that experience with the scrummaging and the way they think about the scrum.
“We can talk about it all day, but it’s just, I just love the way they play, the offload constantly, the French style is so different. They play such a different system compared to even England and all that. It’s just joué.
“It was really good for me to just be part of it and understand the culture.”
France have taken their time to find that joué over their opening wins of this championship. At half-time against Wales they were level 7-7 before going on to win 38-7, and a week later they turned a 5-0 half-time lead into a 40-7 defeat of Italy.
Ireland’s aim is to start fast in France, and then have the mental and physical edge required to stay the distance in the second half.
“We’ve got the benefit now with our group of having come through the World Cup piece where we had full stadiums, a lot of noise, lot of expectation, even if it’s like internal expectation,” says Bemand.
“Going away to France is a class experience. We were away in England two weeks ago, so we’ve had a recent opportunity of stepping into that sort of arena.
“I saw a completely different group to two years ago walking into that space. So as we continue to evolve, as we continue to get more confident in ourselves and our performances, I think we’re ready for this one.
“So this now becomes an excitement, an anticipation rather than nerves and of what could happen. So look, we’re ready for this, we’ve trained well this week, we’re now recovering, we travel, we’re going to enjoy it, the weather looks good over there, and we’ll be absolutely gunning to start and get out the blocks when the whistle goes on Saturday night.”
They’ve talked the talk. Now comes the hardest part.
FRANCE: Pauline Barrat; Anaïs Grando, Aubane Rousset, Téani Feleu, Léa Murie; Carla Arbez, Pauline Bourdon Sansus; Ambre Mwayembe, Mathilde Lazarko, Assia Khalfaoui; Kiara Zago, Madoussou Fall Raclot; Axelle Berthoumieu, Manaé Feleu (capt), Léa Champon.
Replacements: Élisa Riffonneau, Yllana Brosseau, Rose Bernadou, Cloé Correa, Siobhan Soqeta, Charlotte Escudero, Alexandra Chambon, Lina Queyroi.
IRELAND: Stacey Flood; Béibhinn Parsons, Aoife Dalton, Nancy McGillivray, Robyn O’Connor; Dannah O’Brien, Emily Lane; Ellena Perry, Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Linda Djougang; Dorothy Wall, Fiona Tuite; Brittany Hogan, Erin King (capt), Aoife Wafer.
Replacements: Neve Jones; Niamh O’Dowd, Eilís Cahill, Ruth Campbell, Sam Monaghan, Katie Whelan, Eve Higgins, Anna McGann.
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