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Six Nations Preview: Ireland vs France

By James Harrington
Johnny Sexton

Ireland vs France at the Aviva Stadium
(Sunday, February 26, 12.50am HKT)

James Harrington previews must-win match for two teams with plenty to prove.

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What we can expect
High-tempo, high-intensity, hard-hitting rugby on a typically ‘soft’ February day in Dublin.

Ireland
Irish eyes will be looking for just one name on the teamsheet. And, yes, he’s back. Johnny Sexton is set to make his first start in the 2017 Six Nations on the day Ireland make their first appearance at home in the tournament. Meanwhile, Jack McGrath slots back in to start at prop with Cian Healy dropping back to the bench, and captain Rory Best is also back after missing the Italy win with a stomach bug.

Matchday 23: Kearney, Earls, Ringrose, Henshaw, Zebo, Sexton, Murray, McGrath, Best, Furlong, D Ryan, Toner, CJ Stander, O’Brien, Heaslip. Bench: Scannell, Healy, J Ryan, Henderson, O’Mahony, Marmion, Jackson, Trimble

France
Guy Novès has made three changes from the starting XV that beat Scotland in Paris a fortnight ago. Two are injury-enforced: Yoann Huget comes in for Virimi Vakatawa, while Bernard Le Roux will pack down alongside Kevin Gourdon and Louis Picamoles, with Loann Goujon and Damien Chouly both in the infirmary. But he’s also called up Rabah Slimani – with Uini Atonio dropping to the bench, where he’ll sit alongside a new-look set of replacements including Eddy Ben Arous, Charles Ollivon, Henry Chavancy and Djibril Camara. Les Bleus look short of cover at 10, with starting scrum-half Serin likely to step in if Lopez is injured, and they still don’t have a consistent kicker, which could be a problem.

Matchday 23: Spedding, Huget, Lamerat, Fickou, Nakaitaci, Lopez, Serin; Baille, Guirado, Slimani, Vahaamahina, Maestri, Le Roux, Gourdon, Picamoles Bench: Tolofua, Atonio, Ben Arous, Le Devedec, Ollivon, Machenaud, Chavancy, Camara

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All eyes on: Johnny Sexton
Sexton has not played for Ireland since the November internationals and has managed barely two hours of club rugby in the three months since then. But he is so important to Ireland that it is no surprise he has been called up now he has proved his fitness. It will also come as no surprise to see a conveyor-belt of hairy-arsed French forwards launching themselves at him from the very first whistle.

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Key battle: The forwards
The French pack, while it still has plenty of oomph, is more mobile than many give credit – and with the likes of Ollivon, Ben Arous and Le Devedec in wait on the bench, the Irish can expect little let-up for 80 minutes.

Prediction
The difference will be in the accuracy of the kicking – and there the hosts have the edge. Ireland by 6.

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J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

44 Go to comments
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