Schedule, statistics, offbeat info… Everything you need to know before the second match of the Blues, this Saturday in Dublin, in the Tournament.
Where to see Ireland-France
The kick-off of the clash at the top between the Irish and the French will be given this Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. A meeting broadcast live on France 2, with Matthieu Lartot and Dimitri Yachvili on commentary. Also available on lefigaro.fr. with the match commented live by the talented Thomas Larroquette.
France, Ireland’s pet peeve
During his tenure as head of the France team between 2011 and 2015, Philippe Saint-André never beat Joe Schmidt’s Ireland, conceding two draws and three defeats, the last at the 2015 World Cup Fabien Galthié, in office since 2019, is quite the opposite: he has never lost in three games against the Irish now trained by Englishman Andy Farrell. “During their last matches, the French knew how to find the means to beat all the teams. The way they finished last year undefeated makes them very dangerous again this year.” confided the coach of the XV of Clover before the start of the competition. Before going to Dublin, Galthié is on his guard: “There is this offensive leg recognized by the world of rugby as something remarkable. And they also have wonderful players and above all a reservoir that they manage to supply on a regular basis. So distrust.
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An indiscipline to be corrected
The Blues came close to corrections last Sunday against Italy (24-29). Their streak of 13 consecutive victories almost came to an end in Rome. The big black point of this match: indiscipline. With 18 penalties whistled against them, Antoine Dupont and his teammates were very far from international standards in this area. But Fabien Galthié did not want to sound the alarm. “From experience, if you take our first matches of each rally, we are always around 15, 16 or 17 penalties against us. Afterwards, in the second match, we divide by two and we stay in this average, around 9 until the end”, advances the tricolor coach, who nevertheless focused on this sector. “Without panic, in a lucid way, we worked on the points of improvement, he explained. Without considering that as a weak point, because discipline is a strong point for us.
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Doris-Alldritt, choc de titans
Against Wales, Irish third-line center Caelan Doris had a colossal match, including a scored try, 60m won in 11 runs and 18 tackles. The Leinster player is definitely one of the strong men of the green pack. This Saturday, his duel with Grégory Alldritt should sparkle. Clean without being decisive against Italy, the number 8 of La Rochelle will want, one imagines, to show a better face. Ireland has “an extremely active third line, perhaps one of the best in the world today with Van der Flier, Doris and O’Mahony”, advances the Rochelais. And to add: “We have been warned but whether it is the third line or the whole pack, it is hyper mobile. It promises a great battle!”
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The much more experienced Irish
Experience against youth. This is how we could sum up the duel between the Irish and the French. The starting XV of Ireland has indeed accumulated 676 caps, or 45 average caps per player, against 459 for the Blues (30.6 average caps per player). Among the Blues, it’s a bit of a big gap between Gaël Fickou, who has worn the blue tunic 76 times, and Ethan Dumortier who will honor his second selection on Saturday in Dublin. When he arrived at the head of the Blues, Fabien Galthié had indicated that it takes 30 selections for a player to be seasoned at international level. Today, eight holders have crossed this symbolic bar: Baille (40), Atonio (49), Ollivon (30), Alldritt (36), Dupont (44), Ntamack (33), Fickou (76) and Sheepish (39). As well as Taofifenua (40), present him on the bench of substitutes.
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Un Fickou record
In addition to being the most capped French player in the current XV of France (76 caps), Gaël Fickou will become, against Ireland, the French player who has played the most matches in the Six Nations Tournament with 41 appearances . He would be one unit ahead of the former pillar of the Blues, Sylvain Marconnet (40 matches between 1999 and 2011). Previously, the three-quarter center of Racing 92 had erased from the shelves the 39 matches played by Imanol Harinordoquy (between 2002 and 2012) and Jean-Pierre Rives (1975-1984), at the time when the Tournament had only five nations . During this edition, Fickou could also be ahead of Serge Blanco (42 matches). Afterwards, only Philippe Sella (50 matches) and Fabien Pelous (49) would remain ahead of him.