High stakes as Six Nations superpowers collide

Men's Six Nations: Ireland v France

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 8 March Kick-off: 14:15 GMT

Coverage: Listen unrecorded connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, Radio Ulster & BBC Sounds; substance commentary and highlights connected BBC Sport website and app; ticker connected ITV1

Hype, precocious stakes and history. Saturday's Six Nations showdown betwixt Ireland and France has it all.

Having claimed the past 3 titles (France successful 2022, Ireland successful 2023 and 2024), a penultimate-round fixture betwixt the bluish hemisphere's apical 2 loomed ample implicit the opening weeks of the competition.

And portion France's decision by England successful circular 2 ended the anticipation of a 'Grand Slam shootout', the large representation is inactive beautifully poised.

Ireland are 2 wins from the Grand Slam and a historical hat-trick of titles, but could win the title with a crippled to spare connected Saturday.

France are champion placed to halt them. Victory connected Saturday would enactment Les Bleus successful the driving spot with England - who play Italy connected Sunday - inactive precise overmuch successful the mix.

When greenish meets blue, it is usually unmissable. On France's past sojourn to Dublin 2 years ago, Ireland won an enthralling slugfest, present regularly mentioned successful 'greatest Six Nations games' conversations.

Last twelvemonth successful Marseille, Ireland roared to a 38-17 win. Antoine Dupont was absent and Paul Willemse's first-half reddish paper hampered the French cause, but it was inactive looked upon arsenic a connection Irish triumph.

With Dupont backmost and the suitably precocious stakes, this year's contention already looked large connected paper, but events implicit the past week person packed adjacent much intrigue into this rivalry's latest chapter.

First, the fallout from Garry Ringrose's suspension has stirred tensions. Ringrose was handed a three-game prohibition pursuing his reddish paper against Wales. It volition beryllium reduced to 2 if helium attends World Rugby's Coaching Intervention Programme.

Given the prohibition covered Leinster's crippled with Cardiff past week, Ringrose should beryllium backmost to look Italy adjacent week, which erstwhile Irish planetary Donncha O'Callaghan labelled "incredibly lucky".

France's Romain Ntamack was not truthful fortunate. After being reddish carded against Wales, the fly-half's prohibition did not see 1 of Toulouse's Top 14 games and helium subsequently missed France's decision by England and triumph successful Italy.

The triumph implicit Wales successful the archetypal lucifer of the 2025 Championship was injury-plagued Ntamack's archetypal France quality for 18 months. He and Damian Penaud - who was dropped for the Italy crippled - bash not deficiency information heading to Dublin.

Their instrumentality has, however, been overshadowed by the 'Bomb Squad'.

Having trialled it successful the crushing triumph implicit Italy, caput manager Fabien Galthie has stuck with the bold maneuver of packing 7 forwards and conscionable 1 backmost connected to his bench.

In Rome, six France forwards were introduced astatine the aforesaid time. It did not backfire then, but utilizing it against a superior battalion - albeit 1 inactive shorn of Tadhg Furlong - is an audacious determination by Galthie, whose aboriginal could hinge connected however Saturday goes.

Beyond plumping for the 7:1 bench, Galthie has done his spot to disturbance the cookware successful the build-up by calling for "decisive and accordant refereeing" from Australian authoritative Angus Gardner.

Galthie referenced James Lowe's effort successful the 2023 fixture, which was awarded to Ireland aft a lengthy TMO reappraisal to find whether his ft had been successful interaction earlier helium spectacularly finished successful the corner.

That, alongside legendary ex-France footballer Thierry Henry's curiously timed sojourn to the French camp earlier this week, has simply added to the intrigue.

Ireland, of course, faced - and toppled - a 'Bomb Squad' earlier successful their World Cup pool-stage triumph implicit South Africa successful 2023.

Here, Irish interim brag Simon Easterby has reverted to a six-two divided for the archetypal clip since past year's nonaccomplishment to England.

In that game, Ireland mislaid starting helping Calvin Nash and his replacement Ciaran Frawley to failed caput wounded assessments, leaving influential scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park connected the helping for the past 30 minutes.

Against France, Easterby has picked Conor Murray and Jack Crowley arsenic the backline replacements and Jamie Osborne - a left-footed full-back - connected the close helping successful Mack Hansen's absence.

Again, it is simply a gamble: Osborne has ne'er played there, but his versatility - helium tin besides screen 15, 12 and 11 - has convinced Easterby that this is the champion way to victory.

Osborne volition travel up against France's jet-heeled winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who already has 5 tries successful this year's tournament. Bielle-Biarrey is faster than Osborne, but the Irish coaches indispensable consciousness the Leinster subordinate tin triumph the aerial battle.

James Lowe v Penaud connected the other helping should beryllium arsenic fascinating.

Penaud is 1 effort disconnected equalling Serge Blanco's French grounds of 38 tries. He volition beryllium fired up aft being dropped against Italy, but Lowe is enjoying a good tournament, starring Ireland successful effort assists (four), line-breaks (eight), metres carried (299.5) and metres gained (199.5).

The affectional stakes for Ireland had already been heightened by Peter O'Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray's joint status announcement past week.

Saturday volition beryllium a Dublin farewell for the trio - who boast a combined 372 Test outings - earlier adjacent week's travel to Italy, portion fit-again skipper Caelan Doris, Finlay Bealham and Jack Conan volition each triumph their 50th caps.

Harnessing the imaginable of a fitting Aviva Stadium send-off for erstwhile skipper O'Mahony, most-capped subordinate Healy and three-time British and Irish Lion Murray could beryllium an added limb successful the holders' armoury.

"I accidental you don't privation to get overly affectional and marque it excessively large a happening and get sidetracked from the main objective," Doris said of the legendary trio's location swansong.

"But it's been thrown successful arsenic an other motivational origin and it's decidedly thing that we'll deliberation of and hopefully it volition springiness america an other edge."