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The visit of France may conjure up sepia-tinted images of flying wingers, of dazzling attacks and glorious tries.
But if the French team that runs out in Dublin on Saturday is a worthy inheritor of those old glories, their plan for Ireland will revolve around another timeless quality: brute power.
Because the classic Gallic combination pairs style and steel, and it will be a juggernaut French pack, supplemented by as many as seven forward replacements off the bench, that holds the key to visiting hopes in the Aviva Stadium.
Maxime Lucu of France has a kick blocked by Tadhg Beirne of Ireland during the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between France and Ireland last year. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
And they could well be buoyed by the absence of Tadhg Furlong, because despite an upbeat spin on his participation in training on Tuesday, the fitness of the tighthead is still being handled with extreme care.
Ireland in the scrum
Furlong has been dogged by hamstring and calf problems for months and has yet to play a second of the Six Nations this year.
For the first two rounds of the championship, Ireland easily survived his absence, with Finlay Bealham an able deputy and Andrew Porter starring on the loosehead side.
But then came Cardiff, and the decision of interim coach Simon Easterby to rotate his side against the hapless Welsh. Under temporary leadership themselves, though, the Dragons roared and gave Ireland an almighty fright, with much of the Welsh resistance surging through their scrum.
Tighthead Willgriff John gave Porter a torrid time, while on his first start, rookie tighthead Thomas Clarkson had a difficult afternoon, too.
Andrew Porter did not succeed in the scrum against Wales. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Ireland conceded four scrum penalties in the first half, before the arrival of Bealham steadied the set-piece in Ireland’s fourth-quarter surge as Wales tired.
Fabien Galthié and his coaches will have pored over the footage of the Irish travails – but the French chief has also had access to invaluable intelligence courtesy of Rabah Slimani.
French knowledge
The veteran tighthead hadn’t played for France for almost five and a half years before he was a surprise recall to their extended Six Nations squad in January.
Slimani didn’t get close to a match-day squad and was back playing for Leinster last weekend, where he has been a major hit since signing on this season.
However, it’s what the 35-year-old has learned about Ireland’s props while at Leinster that must be giving the Irish camp pause for thought.
For the first two rounds, Ireland easily survived Tadhg Furlong’s absence. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Given Ireland’s huge reliance on Leinster players, Slimani went into the French camp packed with information on Porter, Furlong, Clarkson, Dan Sheehan, Ronan Kelleher, Gus McCarthy, Cian Healy and Jack Boyle.
Except for Bealham, every Irish front-row forward to feature in the championship this year has been from the province.
That dependence means Slimani had potentially invaluable intel to share with the French coaches.
But that scenario was not troubling the Irish camp ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster – not publicly, at any rate.
‘I don’t know the guy and he’s done really well for Leinster,’ said John Fogarty, the scrum coach.
‘I think he’s performed really well and it’s on merit that he’s been selected.
‘I’m sure he does have an insight, but we’ve played these guys a lot, and the lads played them in Europe quite a bit. We’re very familiar with each other, so good for him.’
Rabah Slimani during a Leinster Rugby squad training at UCD in Dublin. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Fogarty was also robust in defending his team’s performance against Wales, despite the judgements of Christophe Ridley, the match referee, and his assistants.
Defending the team
They had no hesitation in penalising Porter and Clarkson twice apiece, but Fogarty, at pains to be diplomatic, couldn’t hide his view that the judgements were the result of Welsh sharp practice.
‘I guess you never want to throw anyone under the bus,’ Fogarty started, picking his words with extreme care, but the Irish case boiled down to the Welsh scrum failing to engage fully on the referee’s call, making it look like Ireland were transgressing.
‘I’m not blaming Ridley at all,’ he stressed, before giving credit to Wales for effectively getting away with it – as he saw it.
“If you want to collapse the scrum, it’s quite easy,’ he shrugged.
‘They brought a guy back that hadn’t played for three years (John). I thought he did a good job on Ports (Porter) at tighthead but it was very, very messy.’
The set-piece used to be a cause of acute anxiety to Irish teams, and frequently a weakness, too. But Furlong’s brilliance, along with Porter’s development on the loosehead side, gave Ireland two of the prized props in the Test game.
Ireland Rugby Press Conference, IRFU High Performance Centre, Abbotstown, Dublin 5/2/2025 National Scrum Coach John Fogarty. Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady
Porter has occasionally fallen foul of referees who deem his scrummaging style illegal, as happened in Cardiff, but Furlong’s absence has been cushioned by the understated excellence of Bealham.
France, though, powered by the enormous Uini Atonio on the tighthead side, and backed up by the most feared pack in the Six Nations, present a challenge of an entirely different order.
It means Fogarty and his pack will have to have their homework done for Saturday, and that includes communicating with the match referee, Angus Gardner of Australia, in the days before the game.
‘We will send some clips if we need to, earlier in the week. Then we catch up with the referee on Thursday,’ said Fogarty.
‘You can show what you’re doing and it’s up to them then to take on what they want. I’m sure France will be doing the same thing.
‘There is always a communication with the referees. We want to work closely with them. They hold the keys when it comes to penalties’ For all the flair on both sides, the game, and the championship, could come down to how scrums are officiated.
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