Ireland have the incentive against France

Under-21 World Cup/Ireland v France: There are plenty of permutations and combinations but Ireland's task is fairly straightforward: beat France and they are in the World Cup semi-finals. Lose and they are in the fifth-to-eighth play-off.

They are one victory away from being the most successful Irish under-21 side ever. The problem is that several Irish sides have been on the cusp of immortality only to crash against the rock of Gallic flare in the past. Two senior World Cup quarter-final defeats and the 1985 Grand Slam match immediately spring to mind. At under-21 level the head-to-head record makes for even grimmer reading.

The Superpowers of world rugby, New Zealand and Australia, look set to progress to the final four, leaving Ireland, South Africa, France, Wales and Argentina all scraping for the remaining two places.

The "Baby Boks" are currently sitting second in the overall standings but, judging from their one-point victory over an average Wales last Tuesday, they will struggle against the high-tempo Kiwis.

Australia should also have too much firepower for Argentina. England are out of the top-tier running after losing heavily to New Zealand and failing to get a bonus point against Scotland, but they should still beat Wales.

If all that comes to pass, and Ireland win, Mark McDermott's side will leapfrog South Africa into third to set up a semi-final next Wednesday in Hughenden against Australia.

So, plenty of uncertainty but Ireland's job is clear. The French could be home free but they coughed up a 13-point cushion against Australia. The Aussies, under Laurie Fisher, produced a typical fight-back to clinch victory at the death.

Significantly, France lost inspirational captain Yannick Nyanga, a blindside flanker in the Serge Betsen mould, to injury. He is fit to play today. They proceeded to make hard work of Italy, having to empty their bench to salvage a one-point victory.

Ominously, they will eventually produce a quality, 80-minute performance. Nor will they underestimate the Irish after barely getting out of the Six Nations battle of Limoges with a draw. Also, two annual warm-up matches in October mean their is plenty of familiarity. Each side's game plan suddenly takes on greater weight.

Their forwards are beatable, even with talisman Nyanga, but as with all French outfits the main threat is out wide. The back three are all dangerous on the counter, with 2003 under-19 player of the year Jean-Baptiste Peyras their most ruthless finisher. Irish wingers Richard Lane and Tommy Bowe will have their lofty reputations tested to the full.

For the third game running, McDermott has named the same starting line-up, the only change being on the bench, where Oisín Hennessy is named ahead of Anthony Kavanagh. The major injury concern is Bowe, who has received intensive treatment on a shoulder since Tuesday, with a final decision being reserved until this morning.

Trinity number eight Jamie Heaslip - potentially Ireland's player of the tournament - looks to have recovered from a bout of influenza and will start. Brendan O'Connor's groin strain makes him a doubt.

Ireland have the abilities to beat France. The main difficulty could be fatigue. Considering so little separates the teams, whoever tires first will be punished severely. France's gamble of resting half their team for the Italian match paid off as they picked up maximum points.

Ireland, on the other hand, have been through two full-on encounters. It took over an hour to get the fourth try against Tonga so the bench clearance did not begin until late on, while only one replacement was used against Argentina. Three games in eight days take a toll.

Training this week in Cambuslang, on the outskirts of Glasgow, was understandably low key in order to preserve energy levels. At least the monotony of hotel life (playstations, laptops and DVDs) was broken by a trip to Celtic Park on Wednesday.

The Irish camp are in good spirits and displayed against Argentina that they have the grit and winning mentality to cut it at the top level. Victory is achievable but they may need to find reserves previously untapped.

IRELAND: A Finn; R Lane, J Hearty, G Telford, T Bowe; G Steenson, T O'Leary; J Wickham, D Fogarty, D Fitzpatrick, D Gannon (capt), S O'Connor, B O'Connor, D O'Brien, J Heaslip.

FRANCE: A Floch; J Peyras, P Garcia, D Lison, J Arias; R Lespinas, J Dupuy; A Faliere, B Kayser, G Bergos, R Roque, P Vigouroux, Y Nyanga (capt), G Bernard, M Baget.