There are 20 nations set to compete at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but they are not the Top 20-ranked countries in the World Rugby rankings. Photos Backpagepix.
Six Nations LIVE scores: Ireland vs France
Track the action from Dublin as Ireland take on France in the second round of the Six Nations on Saturday 11 February 2023.
There are 20 nations set to compete at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but they are not the Top 20-ranked countries in the World Rugby rankings. Photos Backpagepix.
Ireland vs France: Six Nations LIVE scores Saturday 11 February 2023.
A potential title decider comes around in round two and should be the highlight of the weekend.
Ireland vs France: Six Nations LIVE scores
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WHAT THEY SAID
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell: “Everyone is looking forward to this. “Home advantage has to be a weapon for us. We’ve all got a responsibility for that.
“I think France are a fantastic team. We certainly think we have (improved since last year). We nearly got there in Paris last year but nearly is not quite good enough, so therefore, lessons learned. I think they’re well documented as far as being ourselves and taking our game to them.”
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France head coach Fabien Galthié: “They are the number one team in the world, which means they are the best because there is only one best team in the world. They have held that ranking since last summer, to do that you have to keep putting in good performances because we can tell that 14 wins in a row isn’t enough to go top.
“That says it all. Andy Farrell took over from Joe Schmidt and built on the strengths of Irish rugby, that is an attacking game that is incredibly accurate. We can only admire them. Every match in the Championship is a final, but this will be against one of the best opponents we have faced over 32 matches.”
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Ireland vs France: Teams
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Conor Murray; 1 Andrew Porter, 2 Rob Herring, 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Bundee Aki.
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France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Ethan Dumortier, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 1 Cyril Baille, 2 Julien Marchand, 3 Uini Atonio, 4 Thibaud Flament, 5 Paul Willemse, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 7 Charles Ollivon, 8 Grégory Alldritt
Replacements: 16 Gaëtan Barlot, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 François Cros, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Baptiste Couilloud, 23 Matthieu Jalibert
