Guinness Six Nations Preview: New Look Ireland Face Dupont Led Les Bleus

France host Ireland under the lights in Paris as Six Nations heavyweights collide, with set piece pressure, selection gambles & discipline set to decide it.

Feb 3, 2026 by Philip Bendon

Guinness Six Nations Preview: New Look Ireland Face Dupont Led Les Bleus

Thursday night under the lights at the Stade de France. This is where the centre of the rugby universe can be found as two of the world’s top sides collide.

Les Bleus know all too well what the pain of defeat at home to Ireland feels like, having come unstuck in Marseille in dramatic fashion two seasons ago.

Rectifying this major comedown just months removed from their devastating home World Cup quarterfinal exit, Fabien Galthie’s side arrived in Dublin with bad intentions. Despite losing talismanic skipper Antoine Dupont to what proved to be a serious ACL injury, France breached the previously impenetrable Aviva Stadium fortress.

Emerging with a 42 – 27 victory en route to a second title in four seasons, Fabien Galthie’s side laid bare the blueprint to beat Andy Farrell’s Ireland.

Deny Ireland clean set piece ball, go direct with big carriers and kick contestables. Simple. Since then, Ireland have come unstuck at the hands of South Africa and New Zealand twice in a rather similar manner.

Team News

Thus, today’s team selections paint an interesting picture for what many expect to unfold on Thursday evening.

Both Galthie and Farrell have opted for 6 – 2 bench splits, with the hosts set to unleash Toulouse behemoth Emmanuel Meafou. This shift sees the more mobile pairing of Charles Ollivon and Mickael Guillard lining up in the second row.

Ireland will look to counter the French force with an equally hefty bench featuring Leinster stalwarts James Ryan, Jack Conan and Nick Timoney. Interestingly, Farrell has resisted the urge to name Munster powerhouse Edwin Edogbo despite the lock’s stellar form. Instead, the major shift in the pack is the starting of Connacht captain Cian Prendergast at blindside.

In the respective backlines, both coaches have rolled the dice in key positions, namely fly half and the back three.

Backing in form Union Bordeaux Begles star Mathieu Jalibert, Galthie has veered away from shifting fullback Thomas Ramos to the ten shirt. This move pairs Dupont with the same playmaker he featured with at the World Cup, but one that has yielded mixed results in the past.

Farrell has once again selected Leinster’s Sam Prendergast despite relatively significant defensive concerns. Holding off Munster’s Jack Crowley, who is named on the bench, and his clubmate Harry Byrne, Thursday’s clash feels set to be a pivotal moment for the highly talented playmaker.

In the back three, Galthie’s bombshell non selection of Damian Penaud garnered headlines in the build up to this year’s championship. In his place comes Pau’s electric finisher Theo Attisogbe.

Making an equally significant shift, Farrell has dropped incumbent James Lowe in favour of Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale. The star of the 2018 Six Nations, Stockdale now appears to be back to his very best following a challenging few years.

At fullback, Jamie Osborne comes straight back into the starting line up despite having not played any rugby since the November international series. With injuries to Hugo Keenan and Mack Hansen, the Ireland boss stuck to his guns and avoided moving Stockdale to the 15 shirt.

Keys To Victory

Rarely is a contest so black and white, but the hard truth is Ireland’s set piece will be under the microscope in a similar manner to their November clash with the Springboks.

Absent are Farrell’s presumed first three loosehead options, with Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle all unavailable through injury. In place of the Leinster trio, Munster’s pairing of Jeremy Loughman and Michael Milne get a significant opportunity to prove themselves.

At tighthead, Tadhg Furlong lost his battle to be fit for the clash, paving the way for Thomas Clarkson to get arguably the biggest start of his career to date. Backing the Leinsterman up, veteran Finlay Bealham is named on the bench ahead of Ulster’s Tom O’Toole.

Facing this group are a relatively new looking French set of props, with Jean Baptiste Gros and Dorian Aldegheri getting the start. On the bench is 30 year old Rodrique Neti, who will win his sixth test cap, whilst Regis Montagne will win his seventh.

Despite their relative international inexperience, both Neti and Montagne have vast Top 14 experience. Additionally, the pairing have a combined 25kg weight advantage over their Irish counterparts.

Nevertheless, it is tests like this that Farrell relishes and will no doubt be a thorough examination of how deep the Irish front row depth stretches.

At lineout time, the selection of Ollivon and Guillard in the second row, with Francois Cros and Anthony Jegou in the back row, is a clear indication that the hosts are going to target Ireland’s lineout. Once a clear strength for the men in green, the lineout has become an Achilles heel that has stunted their previously lethal strike plays.

In this department, the selection of Cian Prendergast could be central, with the Connacht skipper among the best lineout jumpers in Irish rugby. This aside, Ireland look to be light on viable jumpers, with the lock pairing of Tadhg Beirne and Joe McCarthy not renowned for their prowess in the air, whilst Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris are more adept as carriers off lineout ball than jumpers.

Failure to secure clean ball in a similar manner to the struggles endured throughout November will severely dent Ireland’s hopes.

Thus, the spotlight on forwards coach Paul O’Connell has never shone brighter. Given O’Connell’s pedigree as one of the game’s great lineout exponents, Ireland’s inability to rectify an issue that stretches back to the 2023 World Cup is mind boggling.

In this regard, the loss of Munster’s Thomas Ahern and the non selection of Ulster’s Cormac Izuchukwu feels set to be a talking point should Ireland come up short. The same can be said at scrum time, where the non selection of Edogbo denies Ireland a like for like replacement for Joe McCarthy.

This lack of parity at set piece will also bring to the fore Ireland’s other key concern, discipline. Slipping from being world leaders in this regard to downright awful, Ireland’s squeaky clean image is a thing of the past. At provincial and international level, Irish rugby has a serious discipline issue, with Bundee Aki’s suspension a timely reminder that Farrell needs to tighten the reins on his side.

Conceding a comical number of cards and penalties against the Springboks has left an imprint on Irish rugby that, if nothing else, this campaign presents an opportunity to shake.

Defensively, Ireland’s ability to both cover Prendergast and switch from the Leinster blitz defence mindset of so many of their players to a more Farrell connected defensive system is an equally interesting subplot.

Focusing on the positives for the men in green despite their struggles in recent times, this side has bundles of potential to be a dominant aerial force, with several players possessing the raw materials to rule the skies.

This is a key area that Ireland can target their hosts, with neither Louis Bielle Biarrey nor Theo Attisogbe renowned operators in this area. Similarly, Thomas Ramos, whilst a world class operator, has been targeted previously in the contestable game. For Ireland, Jamie Osborne and Tommy O’Brien have proven to be exceptional in the air, whilst Jacob Stockdale has taken significant strides over the past couple of seasons.

Equally, Ireland’s ability to retain possession has previously proven to be the kryptonite to Shaun Edwards’ defensive system. Starving Les Bleus of possession is a clear way to limit the impact of their big carriers and pace out wide. If Ireland can take the French pack through the phases and wreck their ruck ball, not only will they poke holes in a defence that has been porous of late, it will also limit the opportunities for Antoine Dupont to pull the strings.

Prediction

Named as 13 point favourites at the start of the week, France rightly come into this contest as the team to beat.

On paper, there are more avenues to victory for the hosts, with the primary areas of strength listed above.

Taking into account the raft of front row issues for Ireland, along with concerns around discipline and defensive solidity, a win in Paris would be up there with any of Farrell’s long list of big victories over the past five years.

Mix in the emotion of Antoine Dupont’s revenge mission and the hosts could blow Ireland away early and consolidate from there. Conversely, if the visitors can frustrate their hosts and stay in touch heading into the final quarter, the pendulum would swing in their favour. One underrated point has been Leinster’s ability to close out tight contests, which is not a feature one could necessarily have credited Ireland with previously. This unwillingness to flinch will give them the edge in a tight ending. Of course, they need to get there first.

With this being said, everything is pointing towards a home win and right now we agree. France by 12.

Team Rosters

France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Theo Attissogbe, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Oscar Jegou, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Mickael Guillard, 4 Charles Ollivon, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros

Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Regis Montagne, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Emmanuel Meafou, 21 Lenni Nouchi, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Kalvin Gourgues

Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Jeremy Loughman

Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Nick Timoney, 22 Craig Casey, 23 Jack Crowley

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