FRANCE v IRELAND 6 Nations International Championship

09.03.2013

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	PT
ENGLAND	3	3	0	0	73	37	36	6
WALES	3	2	0	1	64	45	19	4
SCOTLAND	3	2	0	1	64	54	10	4
IRELAND	3	1	0	2	42	46	-6	2
ITALY	3	1	0	2	42	78	-36	2
FRANCE	3	0	0	3	37	62	-25	0

Preview
Both coaches are under great pressure as they try and lift their teams off the bottom of the 6 Nations points table.

France has been a huge disappointment after their very successful northern autumn programme. They started with a shock loss to Italy and simply have not regained their confidence.

Ireland began with a great win over Wales but has slumped against England and then Scotland. Today could be the day they inflict more pain upon the French.

This will be a tough encounter, probably played in a defensive mode. Don’t expect anything more than a slug fest by two desperate sides.

Last Five Encounters
04.03.2012 Drawn 17-17 in Paris (6 Nations)
20.08.2011 France 26-22 in Dublin (World Cup Warm-up)
13.08.2011 France 19-12 in Bordeaux (World Cup Warm-up)
13.02.2011 France 25-22 in Dublin (6 Nations)
13.02.2010 France 33-10 in Paris (6 Nations)

Ireland last defeated France in 2009 and that win was in Dublin.

Ireland Last Five P 5, W 2, L 3
24.02.2013 v Scotland L 8-12 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
10.02.2013 v England L 6-12 in Dublin (6 Nations)
02.02.2012 v Wales W 30-22 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
24.11.2012 v Argentina W 46-24 in Dublin
10.11.2012 v South Africa L 12-16 in Dublin

France Last Five P 5, W 2, L 3
23.02.2013 v England L 13-23 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
10.02.2013 v Wales L 6-16 in Paris (6 Nations)
03.02.2013 v Italy L 18-23 in Rome (6 Nations)
24.11.2012 v Samoa W 22-14 in Paris
17.11.2012 v Argentina W 39-22 in Lille

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-France 6th, Ireland 10th
Europe Table-France 2nd, Ireland 3rd

IRB Ranking Points
France 81.20, Ireland 79.28

Prediction: Ireland by 3 points

TEAMS

Ireland
15 Robert Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Patrick Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Heaslip (Capt.) 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Mchael McCarthy, 3 Michael Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements
16 Sean Cronin, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Donnacha O'Callaghan, 20 Iain Henderson, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.
Head Coach: Declan Kidney

France
15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana,
11 Maxime Medard, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements
16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Antonie Claassen, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.
Head Coach: Phillipe Saint Andre