Ireland vs. France: Date, Live Stream, TV Info, Six Nations 2015 Round 2 Preview
Despite both picking up victories, neither France nor Ireland were overly impressive in victory on the opening weekend of the 2015 Six Nations.
France narrowly beat Scotland 15-8 at the Stade de France without scoring a try, while Ireland were only comfortable late on in a largely laboured 26-3 win over Italy in Rome.
The defending champions will have home advantage against France in Dublin at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday and need to put in a strong performance in front of their fans to build momentum.
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Read on for a full preview of an intriguing matchup, as well as all the necessary scheduling, television and live streaming information.
Date: Saturday, Feb. 14
Time: 5 p.m. GMT, noon ET
TV Info: BBC 1 (UK), beIN Sports (US)
Live Stream: BBC iPlayer, beIN Sports Connect
Preview
France have not won a Six Nations championship since 2010 and were largely uninspired in last year's tournament.
A similar malaise seemed to be impacting them last week against the Scots, and although they got the win, it was courtesy of five Camille Lopez penalties, not a display of inspiring running rugby.
Indeed, Sky Sports analyst Will Greenwood bemoaned the loss of Les Bleus' traditional flair after the Scotland game, a facet of their game that needs to be rediscovered:
It is not as though they don't have the quality; the likes of Wesley Fofana, Mathieu Bastareaud, Yoann Huget, Teddy Thomas and Scott Spedding make up a terrific back line.
And head coach Philippe Saint-Andre has stuck with largely the same team that won on the opening weekend, making just one change to the squad—Eddy Ben Arous replaces the injured Alexandre Menini at prop, per BBC Sport.
France certainly have the ability to trouble Ireland, but they need to find fluidity in the backs, as their pack will be well challenged at the Aviva Stadium, and it may take one or two moments of individual brilliance for Les Bleus to pick up a victory.
Ireland are themselves in need of a momentum change having started sluggishly against the Italians, Joe Schmidt's side would arguably have lost against any other side on opening weekend with a similar performance.
France present a significant challenge to the Irish, and the hosts need to pick up a victory if they are to defend their 2014 title—Wales, Scotland and England are all set to be difficult fixtures in the coming weeks.
Ireland should be hugely buoyed by the return of Johnny Sexton to the lineup, per the Irish Independent's Ruaidhri O'Connor, with Ian Keatley having stood in against Italy at No. 10:
While Keatley's place kicking was exemplary in Rome, Sexton's superior game-management should give Ireland a whole new impetus against France, and potentially move them up a gear or two from their opening performance.
Ireland are a superior outfit to France, but they only edged their victory last year, winning 22-20 to claim the championship in a dramatic finale.
Saturday's match will require full commitment from the Irish pack against a powerful French unit, but Sexton's return should give them the boost they need to win in Dublin in front of their home fans.
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