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Ireland is heading to Paris to face France in pursuit of a Six Nations title, and it will be a tall order, according to the Against The Head panel, with Eddie O’Sullivan highlighting the absence of Garry Ringrose.
On Monday it was confirmed that Ringrose will miss the remainder of the fall international window after suffering a broken jaw in last weekend’s win over Italy in Dublin.
“Ringrose is a great loss and that is going to change our dynamic,” was O’Sullivan’s reaction when he spoke on Against The Head.
“He brings that advantage outside of center and he’s a line breaker. He’s on top of his game, very unfortunate.”
Ahead of Saturday’s clash at the Stade de France, the former Irish coach highlighted a player.
“Jacob Stockdale has more in him. He’s a big, big man, very fast and if he’s not going to break the line, the fact that he comes into contact so aggressively puts you on the front foot.”
Taking a look at what could happen against France, both Fiona Coghlan and Donal Lenihan were of the opinion that the Irish will have a lot of work on their hands to meet the physical challenge.
Coghlan summed it up by saying: “Over the years, they haven’t been sure who their mediators were. Now they have Romain Ntamack and Antoine Dupont. The whole team relies on them.
“They also have forwards. The question arises as to whether Ireland can handle the physique they can bring, allied to what their forwards will offer. It’s a different beast next weekend.”
Commenting further on France’s improvement, Lenihan added: “Where Ireland have come up short before, it’s against those great physical forwards.
“France is now much fitter and more athletic than two years ago. Cyril Baille and Mohamed Haouas, the two mainstays, are brilliant bearers. Bernard Le Roux can be cited, but he is an outstanding striker playing in the second row.
“He has a big lump next to him in Paul Willemse. They play it for 50 minutes and then they bring Romain Taofifenua. So there is athletics within that French group. The bench is very strong. Camille Chat, the prominent Racing prostitute, is keeps in reserve “.
Follow France v Ireland (20.05 on Saturday) with our live blog on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app or listen to the commentary live on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
Follow France v Ireland from Energia Park in the Women’s Six Nations (1:30 pm on Saturday) live on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra.
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