Rua Rogan ¦ Contributing Writer
After round three of this year’s 6 Nations, Ireland sits atop a four-way tie for the title. No team can win a grand slam and Ireland has yet to play Italy at home in a tournament, which will likely be decided on points difference. Had this been offered to any Irish fan at the end of last Spring’s disastrous campaign they would have bitten your hand clean off. Yet strangely there is a sense of heavy hearts amongst Irish fans after a narrow away defeat to England.
This three point loss dashed our Triple Crown and Grand Slam hopes. Despite this, Ireland have a twenty-one point cushion on points difference over closest rivals, England, and are still very much on track to win the title for just the third time in twenty-nine years. No mean feat.
Whilst the bookmakers have England as favourites to lift the trophy this year they still have a lot of rugby to play and a lot of points to make up against current title-holders Wales and Italy, who are no longer the whipping boys of the tournament. One slip up against either team will surely put them out of the running.
At the same time Ireland will attempt to increase their points difference against Italy by continuing their run of dominant home performances and beating a weakened French team in Paris.
The Irish have beaten a French team playing in France only once since 1972. The young Brian O’Driscoll announced his arrival on the world stage with the famous hat trick that decided the result that day in Paris, in 2001. It would almost be fitting to see him go out in the same manner in his 141st test thirteen years later.
Irish fans could be forgiven for keeping their fingers crossed that he has the same influence on the corresponding feature in 2014. We must remember that this is a weakened French team. Now missing their entire first choice back row, including the talismanic captain Thierry Dusatoir, the monstrous Louis Picamoles who has been a great source of ‘go forward ball’ for the misfiring French and Yannick Nyanga, who is an important groundhog in the back row. Without all three of these frontline players the French might struggle to get a hold on the game at times. Also missing is the constant threat of Wesley Fofana whose line breaks have been vital to France so far in this tournament. But in diversity comes opportunity and 19-year-old Toulouse centre Gael Fickou will surely grasp this opportunity just as he grasped victory from the hands of the English in round one.
So far in this tournament each team in the top four has beaten another and also lost to another. The Irish have beaten the Welsh, who beat the French, who in turn beat the English, who, as mentioned beat the Irish.
An important factor to note in each of these key matches is that it was consistently the home team that won, meaning the Irish should face a very tough challenge in Paris, but should still be confident in their ability to turn over this French team.
Before Joe Schmidt will be willing to comment on this match, he will surely focus primarily on the hurdle of the home match against Italy and who he can afford to rest and who needs to play. His primary focus will surely be outhalf Johnny Sexton who has returned to Parisian club Racing Metro ahead of their big match with Top14 champions Castres. If selected for this club match he will need resting before the vital French match or face playing 8 top-flight matches on consecutive weekends. A fatigued ten is the last thing Ireland need in Paris, but can they still pick up essential points versus Italy without him?
This is a matter, which will weigh heavily on the minds of Irish selectors and one would not envy the pressure they will be under to make both the right decision by the team and players. Truly interesting times to come for Ireland, and the Six Nations as a whole.
