Ireland v France, Kick-off at 2:15pm at the Aviva, Dublin.
Broadcasting: TV: RTÉ2, ITV1, France2, Online: RTÉ Player, ITVX, Radio: RTÉ Radio 1, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster.
Location: Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
Match Officials:
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR)
Preview: Ireland will take on France in Round Two in what is being commonly regarded as this year’s title decider.
Ireland, the number 1 team in the World coming into this tournament haven’t beaten the number 2 team, France, in the Six Nations Championship since winning at home in the Aviva 26-14 in 2019.
Ireland are coming into this match after an away bonus point win in Cardiff, while France also won with a bonus point in Rome.
Teams:
Ireland
Furlong (calf), Gibson-Park (hamstring), Healy (hamstring) and Sheehan (hamstring) have all been ruled out; Salanoa, Blade, Milne and Stewart are in the squad as cover.
Kelleher trained this week and is fit to take a place on the bench.
Sexton has been deemed fully fit to start, after passing his HIA protocols and recovering from the dead leg which saw him removed during Round 1.
Despite being named to start, Murray has emerged as a doubt due to a personal issue.
I would like to dedicate a note of sympathy to the Murray family during this terribly difficult time for them.
Ireland squad (41 players)
Backs (18):
SH: Jamison-Gibson Park, Conor Murray, Craig Casey, Caolin Blade,
OH: Johnny Sexton (capt), Ross Byrne, Jack Crowley,
Centres: Stuart McCloskey, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, Jamie Osborne,
Back 3: Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Mack Hansen, Jordan Larmour, Jimmy O'Brien, Keith Earls, Jacob Stockdale.
Forwards (23):
LHP: Andrew Porter, Cian Healy, Dave Kilcoyne, Michael Milne,
HK: Dan Sheehan, Rob Herring, Rónan Kelleher, Tom Stewart,
THP: Tadhg Furlong, Finlay Bealham, Tom O’Toole, Roman Salanoa,
Lock: Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan, Iain Henderson, Joe McCarthy,
Back Row: Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris, Peter O’Mahony, Jack Conan, Ryan Baird, Gavin Coombes, Cian Prendergast.
The Ireland team named to face France:
15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 26 caps
14. Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians) 10 caps
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 48 caps
12. Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor) 10 caps
11. James Lowe (Leinster) 16 caps
10. Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 110 caps (c)
9. Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 101 caps
1. Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 49 caps
2. Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 32 caps
3. Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) 28 caps
4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 37 caps
5. James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 49 caps
6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 90 caps
7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 46 caps
8. Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 24 caps
Replacements:
16. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 18 caps
17. Dave Kilcoyne (Munster/UL Bohemians) 49 caps
18. Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch) 5 caps
19. Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy) 69 caps
20. Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 34 caps
21. Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon) 8 caps
22. Ross Byrne (Leinster/UCD) 15 caps
23. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 42 caps
The French Team named to face Ireland:
15-Thomas Ramos, 14-Damian Penaud, 13-Gael Fickou, 12-Yoram Moefana, 11-Ethan Dumortier, 10-Romain Ntamack, 9-Antoine Dupont (capt); 8-Gregory Alldritt, 7-Charles Ollivon, 6-Anthony Jelonch, 5-Paul Willemse, 4-Thibaud Flament, 3-Uini Atonio, 2-Julien Marchand, 1-Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16-Gaetan Barlot, 17-Reda Wardi, 18-Sipili Falatea, 19-Romain Taofifenua, 20-Francois Cros, 21-Sekou Macalou, 22-Baptiste Couilloud, 23-Matthieu Jalibert
France head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday named the same starting team for this weekend's Six Nations trip to Ireland as the one that beat Italy in the opening round.
Les Bleus, the defending champions who are ranked second in the world, made changes to their bench for Saturday's visit to the side top of the standings.
Toulouse flanker Francois Cros comes in for La Rochelle lock Thomas Lavault and Lyon scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud replaces Racing 92's Nolan Le Garrec after the 29-24 win over Italy in Rome.
"We have gone with the same personnel due to the performance firstly, the victory with a bonus, therefore they achieved their target," he said.
"Coherence too as it is three weeks that we have worked with this group, and finally confidence because we have confidence in our players who for three years have progressed together, that's why there are no surprises in the starting XV nor in the replacements (finishers)".
Ireland Team Interviews:
Match Previews:
Come on Ireland! ☘️
