Ireland v France: Andy Farrell hopes Aviva crowd can ‘drag us through’

About 51 minutes into last year’s corresponding round two meeting in Paris quickfire tries by Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park had suddenly trimmed Ireland’s 22-7 deficit to just a point. In their moment of need, the majority of the 80,000 Stade de France belted out La Marseillaise as they had pre-match.

Within two minutes Cyril Baille scored France’s second try and thereafter they just about kept Ireland at arm’s length.

[ Six Nations 2023: Five things Ireland need to do to beat France ]

With Covid restrictions meaning an alcohol ban inside the stadium, the vast, tumbling bowl was in full cauldron mode. Johnny Sexton, forced to sit out the game in the stands, said it was the best atmosphere he’s experienced.

As Andy Farrell’s team chases an all-time Irish record of 13 successive home wins, whether a packed Aviva Stadium can play such a role for Saturday’s Six Nations meeting between the world’s top two ranked sides come 2.15pm remains to be seen. But the team-supporter connection works both ways.

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“It’s a package isn’t it?” said Farrell. “It’s everyone who comes to the game buying into it and we’re a part of that package. Obviously, everyone wants to start well and start strongly, and it’s something that we’ve done pretty well, but things ain’t going to go all according to plan when two good teams are going at it.

“It isn’t just getting behind us and getting excited through the good times, it’s also making sure that the fans feel where we’re at it in the game, and try to drag us through, because it’s certainly what our players felt last year in France.”

[ Gordon D’Arcy: Ireland v France set to be pivotal match of Six Nations 2023 ]

That night also marked Dan Sheehan’s coming of age. A 26th-minute replacement for Rónan Kelleher, the Leinster hooker had a stormer. Sheehan has since started nine of Ireland’s last 10 Tests, the exception being a replacement against Fiji, averaging over 65 minutes per start.

[ Ireland vs France all you need to know: TV details, kick-off time, team news and more ]

But with Sheehan the latest to be hamstrung in training, Rob Herring is the only change from last week’s 34-10 win in Cardiff. Kelleher, who hasn’t played since, is restored to a bench with plenty of ballast featuring a trio of Lions in Iain Henderson, Jack Conan and Bundee Aki.

“I feel we’ve got a bit of power and good experience coming off the bench, and you certainly need that in a game of this magnitude,” said Farrell

Sheehan’s loss, in addition to Tadhg Furlong, denies the Irish pack two of their ever-presents in the three Test series against the All Blacks and the Springboks and Wallabies wins.

That run couldn’t last forever and true to form, Farrell pointed out that come the World Cup, the depth of a 33-man squad will be severely tested and will be required to roll with the punches.

[ Gerry Thornley: Formidable France fully prepared for what they see as key test ]

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Indeed, when asked if he still thinks World Cup squads should have 40 players, Farrell said: “I’ve changed my mind, it’s probably 45. The way that the game is nowadays. The way that the athletes are, there’s always going to be moving parts.”

But to lose first Kelleher, and then Gibson-Park, Cian Healy and now Sheehan with hamstring injuries sustained in training over a fortnight, is alarming, especially for Farrell.

“Well, when you’ve four of something that’s pretty similar there’s a chance that there’s a theme there, so it’s something that we’re looking into obviously. But it’s full steam ahead as far as the job in hand for us.”

Conor Murray was “good to go” and “in good spirits” having also been considered a doubt “for personal reasons” as Farrell put it. “I’d like to keep that as it is.”

James Ryan (26) and Andrew Porter (27) will reach a half century of caps against France, as will 34-year-old replacement loosehead David Kilcoyne.

“The growth of his stature within the group has been phenomenal,” said Farrell of Ryan. “They all look up to him, whether he knows it or not. It says a lot about his character, doesn’t it?

“His game’s developing in my opinion, the whole time. His attacking game is certainly developing. His decision-making is developing but he’s never lost what his point of difference is and that’s his work ethic, his fight. He’s got real inner strength to show his will to win.

“I think it’s not celebrated as it should be. We’ve started to recognise it because it’s special. To be so consistent, to get to 50 caps at that age, says a lot about how much the game means to them, how much it means to play for Ireland.

“David Kilcoyne as well. I know that he’s 42,” Farrell joked, “but the resilience he has shown to take a few setbacks and keep on fighting and come back stronger each and every time says a hell of a lot about him.”

On this trio’s landmark day, France will stress Ireland at junctures, and a feature of last week’s win were the amount of try-saving interventions. As much as their fluent attack, Farrell believes a defence is what makes a team special.

“It always has been and it always will be. It will never change. You always have to pay more attention to your attacking side because there’s more things that have to gel together and be in sync for it to flow. But your defence is your character, isn’t it, and it wasn’t perfect last week but we found a way to keep them out and I think that shows a lot about our character.”

His old Wigan team-mate and long-term coaching adversary Shaun Edwards has infused Les Bleus with a new-found organisation and pride in their defence, which is often a springboard for their tries too.

“They obviously try to use their defence as a weapon and so do we. In the modern-day game, you would love to create your own chances through try scoring but also defence, to try and get the ball back as soon as you can. They’re pretty good on the counterattack and they’ve got flair players that can break you open when you’re not quite formed defensively.

“It’s a big part of their game and the personnel that they’ve got to go with that suits them in that regard. But I also think we’re not bad at it neither.”

IRELAND (v France): Hugo Keenan (Leinster); Mack Hansen (Connacht), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), James Lowe (Leinster); Johnny Sexton (Leinster, capt), Conor Murray (Munster); Andrew Porter (Leinster), Rob Herring (Ulster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht); Tadhg Beirne (Munster), James Ryan (Leinster); Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster).

Replacements: Rónan Kelleher (Leinster), David Kilcoyne (Munster), Tom O’Toole (Ulster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Craig Casey (Munster), Ross Byrne (Leinster), Bundee Aki (Connacht).

FRANCE: Thomas Ramos (Toulouse); Damian Penaud (Clermont), Gaël Fickou (Racing 92), Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux-Bègles), Ethan Dumortier (Lyon); Romain Ntamack (Toulouse), Antoine Dupont (Toulouse); Cyril Baille (Toulouse), Julien Marchand (Toulouse), Uini Atonio (La Rochelle); Thibaud Flament (Toulouse), Paul Willemse (Montpellier); Anthony Jelonch (Toulouse), Charles Ollivon (Toulon), Grégory Alldritt (La Rochelle).

Replacements: Gaëtan Barlot (Castres), Reda Wardi (La Rochelle), Sipili Falatea (Bordeaux-Bègles), Romain Taofifuena (Lyon), François Cros (Toulouse), Sekou Macalou (Stade Francais), Baptiste Couilloud (Lyon), Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Bègles).