IRELAND fans joked Thierry Henry “was happy to lend a hand” after he paid a visit to the France camp before their crunch Six Nations clash.
Simon Easterby’s side will look to take a giant leap towards a third Grand Slam in three years when they welcome Les Bleus to Dublin on Saturday.
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Thierry Henry was a special guest at the French training campCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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France Rugby posted photos from the visit to Instagram
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Fans saw it as an act of mind gamesCredit: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
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He famously handled the ball against Ireland in the 2010 World Cup play-offsCredit: EPA
Both sides have been put through their paces in the lead up to the game, but Fabien Gaelthie sought special inspiration for his players.
He did this by bringing Arsenal and France football legend Thierry Henry into camp to speak to his players.
France Rugby shared the photos from the visit to their Instagram page, which was picked up by The42’s Murray Kinsella.
This, in turn, prompted a deluge of reactions from Ireland fans, who viewed it as an instance of mind games.
Henry is, of course, infamous to those of an Irish persuasion for his handball against the Republic of Ireland in the 2010 World Cup play-offs.
And fans showed that they had not quite gotten over that injustice, with one remarking: “A man who knows how to handle Ireland”
A second demanded: “Now we have to win!” while a third said: “Sure he was happy to lend a hand”
A fourth commented: “Is this some sort of joke? Man robbed us in football and now he’s with the rugby team??”
A fifth joked: “‘Oh, so you already use your hands? Mon Dieu!’
A sixth said: “A man who knows how to beat Ireland using his hands and feet”
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A seventh posted: “Have to respect this out of France but now they must be battered. Sorry thems the rules”
An eighth posited: “Inspire by Henry’s actions in 2009, Antoine Dupont is going to attempt an get away with the nastiest knock on the game has ever seen”
A ninth said: “This photo already stuck to the Irish dressing-room wall.” while a tenth proclaimed: “Surely f***ing not? Grade A trolling there.”
Both sides are juggling injury doubts going into Saturday’s heavyweight battle at the Aviva Stadium.
Ireland will be sweating over the fitness of Tadhg Furlong, whose availability will be made clear after training on Wednesday.
Leinster tight-head Furlong has missed all of the Championship to date with a calf problem picked up in the pre-tournament training camp in Portugal.
But he trained fully at the IRFU’s training centre in Abbotstown in a scrum session, though assistant coach John Fogarty revealed a decision will be made after today’s session.
Captain Caelan Doris (knee), Jack Conan (back) and Rónan Kelleher (back) also trained on Tuesday though decisions on all three will be made today.
Doris suffered a knee injury against Scotland on February 9.
Jack Conan, who stepped in for Caelan Doris in Ireland’s win over Wales in round three, is also expected to recover from the back injury that forced him off early in the second half in Cardiff.
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