On the news racks outside Paris’ Gare du Nord, the back pages were dedicated to France’s hopes at the winter Olympics.
Their espoirs are tipped to bring back eight gold medals from Milan-Cortina which would be a more polished return than Fabien Galthie’s last few Test matches. French television bosses even shifted their Six Nations opener against Ireland to Thursday night to accommodate the opening ceremony in the Alps.
Scars of France’s disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign remain but their new half-back combination of Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert could work wonders for public opinion. Andy Farrell‘s Ireland are missing half a dozen household names and the French want to beat them in style at Stade de France. It is anticipated they will do so with ease.
‘The Dupont-Jalibert combination is what everyone has been screaming for,’ English scrum-half Dan Robson, who now plays for Pau, sitting second in the Top 14, tells Daily Mail Sport.
‘It could be very, very dangerous. On paper, you should put them together and they’ll be unstoppable. They’re two very maverick players who can do things a lot of players in their positions cannot.
Scrum-half Antoine Dupont will be pulling the strings for France against Ireland
Dupont will form a fascinating half-back partnership with Matthieu Jalibert (pictured). ‘Imagine having a Marcus Smith-style player at nine and 10. That’s what France have,’ says Dan Robson who plays in France
‘Imagine having a Marcus Smith-style player at nine and 10. That’s what France have. A lot of players feel their way into a game but those two 100 per cent back their ability and most of the time it comes off. International rugby requires you to control certain areas a bit more so the big question will be if they can do that. If they get momentum, then they will be hard to stop.’
Their success could be key to France’s planning for next year’s World Cup. Galthie has dropped Gregory Alldritt, Gael Fickou and their all-time top try-scorer Damian Penaud, signalling a shift in approach to keep up with the changing landscape of Test rugby.
‘Leaving out Penaud was a massive surprise but it’s given a chance to Theo Attissogbe, who I play with at Pau,’ Robson adds. ‘The aerial game might be part of that. Typically, France have kicked long and hoped the opposition kick back so guys like Penaud can counter.
‘With the wingers they’ve picked, maybe they’ll kick a bit shorter and try to contest those kicks. A big part of our game at Pau is kick to compete in the air and get the ball back. Theo is a big part of that and a lot of Test teams play that way. A lot of questions are being asked about coaches and this first game will set the tone.’
At his pre-match conference at the Stade de France, Ireland captain Caelan Doris claimed his team are now the hunters, rather than the hunted. He was probed about weak points in the Irish ranks and how they could stop Dupont’s source of ball from the pack.
‘He’s like one of those little fish that you touch and they dive away from you,’ Doris said of the French skipper, having struggled to get a hand on him in past meetings.
The Irish front-row are missing Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Porter and there is a feeling they will not be able to contend with the French power. ‘This French team is stacked with options,’ says English flanker Lewis Ludlam, who now plays for Toulon.
‘They have a lot of forwards who like to run high, play high and counter-ruck high. You need to get lower than them and get beneath them if you want to win. They have big forwards who want to win the contact high and get their offloads away. You see them put four or five forwards really flat off a ruck and they’re just looking for little bit of space straight off Dupont so they can get an extra metre and move the ball.
Leaving out Damian Penaud by France was a massive surprise but it’s given a chance to Theo Attissogbe (above)
Damian Penaud is France’s all-time leading try-scorer but has not made their Six Nations squad
‘Previously, you would see Alldritt pick the ball off the back of a ruck when the defence isn’t ready, but he’s not in the squad now. I don’t know if they’re going to change the way they play a little bit.
‘Alldritt is really good when the play is out of shape. Maybe they’re going to play a bit more structured. When you get to the World Cup next year, against teams like South Africa, you can’t just rely on Dupont to come up with something special.
‘If they win the first two games then their confidence will be sky high. If they lose those first two games then you might see lads turn away and doubt themselves.
‘It’s very up and down. People fear the English again. Everyone keeps asking me if Henry Pollock is a terrible bloke and I have to keep defending him! They’re expecting to beat Ireland and it seems like England is the match they’re really going for.’