Ireland vs. France: 5 Key Battles That Will Shape 2015 Six Nations Clash
Having taken the first step toward retaining their Six Nations title last weekend, Ireland will welcome France to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday seeking to find their stride in pursuit of back-to-back wins.
Last Saturday's 26-3 win over Italy was a fine enough start for Joe Schmidt's side, but the New Zealander knows too well that his team must show more if they're to defeat Les Bleus.
Philippe Saint-Andre will also be chasing improvements upon the display which saw his men beat Scotland 15-8 in Paris last weekend, with a selection of key battles ready to entertain Dublin discussed ahead.
1. Rob Kearney vs. Scott Spedding
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Full-back Scott Spedding has been one of Saint-Andre's more pleasing foreign-born experiments in the French setup, but Bayonne's No. 15 faces a huge task in suppressing Rob Kearney on Saturday.
South Africa-born Spedding brings a similar style of play to the full-back role as his Irish counterpart; he's strong, aerially domineering and incredibly hard to stop after finding his gallop.
However, Kearney has held down a place as one of the world's most respected full-backs for a reason, and it's in no small part thanks to the regular outlet he offers his back line as an extremely useful running option.
Full-backs don't always come into direct running contact with great frequency, but should the first lines of defence fail, one can most certainly envision Spedding and Kearney going head-to-head at high speed in Dublin.
With two such physically impressive specimens guarding the airwaves, it will also be of great interest to see how Kearney deals with Spedding's 6'2" frame challenging to clutch down any 50-50 balls.
2. Paul O'Connell vs. Pascal Pape
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Not for the first time in their Six Nations careers, Paul O'Connell and Pascal Pape will meet in a war of Test veterans, albeit the former accounting for some 40 more caps than his French opponent.
Yoann Maestri is by all means developing his name as a threatening French force, but Pape still sits as the lock to watch among Saint-Andre's camp—the man who could turn Les Bleus' fortunes when push comes to shove.
It almost goes without saying that 35-year-old O'Connell brings a similarly inspirational figure to Schmidt's pack, but it's no surprise to hear the captain talk of much-needed improvement this week, per BBC Sport:
"We're happy with the result but I'm disappointed and frustrated with some aspects of our game. We fixed it a bit in the second half, spent a lot of time in their half of the pitch and eventually broke them down."
And O'Connell will influence a great number of those areas which need to be better. The set piece could have been more efficient and simply too many dropped balls were seen as far as Ireland are concerned.
One aspect of France's edgy win over the Scots which did impress last Saturday was their pack strength, of which Pape is a big part. O'Connell will look to challenge the Stade Francais lock come every turn, where two most seasoned minds may well clash for the last time in their international careers.
3. Robbie Henshaw vs. Mathieu Bastareaud
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Italy weren't ever expected to be the most challenging of tests for Robbie Henshaw, but he continued his journey as Brian O'Driscoll's successor with another reliable outing in the centre.
He's taken on the best of South Africa and Australia in recent months, but now the Connacht prodigy comes up against another kind of examination, with the considerable frame of Mathieu Bastareaud descending upon Dublin.
The Toulon mammoth isn't the same player he was 12 months ago, however, and Henshaw may find some fortune in the timing of their matchup, having just bested the Azzurri's Michele Campagnaro in a one-to-one battle.
This week, ex-Ireland back-rower Alan Quinlan gave his latest verdict on Henshaw, per Newstalk's Off The Ball, tipping the centre starlet as potentially matching O'Driscoll's standards:
"Henshaw and Payne are excellent players. November will have done them the world of good. Henshaw hopefully he can really step up and show that brilliance he’s shown already. He’s potentially could be as good as Brian O’Driscoll.”
Even an out-of-form Bastareaud is still a dangerous adversary to face, especially considering there sits a difference of about 20 kilograms between his hulking 120kg mass and that of Henshaw's.
It's a different type of threat for Henshaw to test himself against, assuredly, but he's been unnerved in his Ireland ascension so far and may even be considered capable of outwitting his opposite number in the daintier instances.
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4. Peter O'Mahony vs. Thierry Dusautoir
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A stellar battle for the breakdown romantics out there, this weekend's Dublin throwdown will see Peter O'Mahony scrap against Thierry Dusautoir for the rights to pilfering prominence.
Both blind sides take extreme pride in their ability to turn over possession, be it standing ball or grounded, where stamina will play a huge part in seeing who can make it to the rucks and mauls fastest and most frequently.
Les Bleus may not have scored a try at the Stade de France last Saturday, but they were efficient in taking their chances at goal. Meanwhile, Ian Keatley nailed 100 percent of his kicks in Rome to show that Ireland are no slouches from the tee, either.
What that means is that the struggle to see who can win a greater share of the penalties in Dublin is likely to rely largely on which of these two back-row bastions can force more errors out of their opposition.
5. Johnny Sexton vs. Camille Lopez
5 of 5A most welcome return to the Irish setup, Johnny Sexton will most probably start in place of Keatley in Ireland's No. 10 jersey this week, although not due to any shortcomings on the latter's behalf.
Irish kicking coach Richie Murphy has been quoted by the Irish Independent's Michael Verney as saying Sexton can't wait to get in the lineup, with his team-mates undoubtedly excited to usher him back, too:
"He's been a little frustrated the last couple of weeks but he's got the all clear now and he's raring to go. It's a big test for him but the big benefit he has is that he's been training and he has his eye in. He's been doing a lot of skill work and all the non-contact work.
It's not as bad as someone coming back from an injury where they haven't been able to touch the ball, I think he'll be ready to go.
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Should the Racing Metro playmaker indeed come back from injury, he'll be hoping to have a similar impact against the French to that of his display in Paris last year, where a brace of tries from the fly-half paved the way to the Six Nations title.
However, Camille Lopez was nowhere to be seen among the French reserves on that day and Saint-Andre will pray the Clermont figure can make a difference in seeing out a far different result.
Scoring all of France's points against the Scots last week showed Lopez to be a most efficient asset when kicking, but it could be that more is required this time around.
Should Ireland score early, penalties may not be enough to steer France on and their No. 10 may be forced to take on Sexton in a more direct regard, which isn't a venture which proved too successful against Scotland's Finn Russell.
Sexton will have all the motivation needed, but a bout of questions surround his return, including whether he's ready for such a fixture, or if the occasion can work to unsettle his usually stone-cold demeanour.
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