Ireland travel to Paris to face France for the Guinness Men’s Six Nations opener, in an unusual Thursday night fixture. Kick-off is 21:10 local (France), 20:10 Ireland, 22:10 SAST.
The teams
Ireland (1–15)
15 Jamie Osborne; 14 Tommy O’Brien; 13 Garry Ringrose; 12 Stuart McCloskey; 11 Jacob Stockdale; 10 Sam Prendergast; 9 Jamison Gibson-Park; 1 Jeremy Loughman; 2 Dan Sheehan; 3 Thomas Clarkson; 4 Joe McCarthy; 5 Tadhg Beirne; 6 Cian Prendergast; 7 Josh van der Flier; 8 Caelan Doris (capt).
Bench: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Nick Timoney, 22 Craig Casey, 23 Jack Crowley.
France (1–15)
15 Thomas Ramos; 14 Théo Attissogbe; 13 Nicolas Depoortere; 12 Yoram Moefana; 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey; 10 Matthieu Jalibert; 9 Antoine Dupont (capt); 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros; 2 Julien Marchand; 3 Dorian Aldegheri; 4 Charles Ollivon; 5 Mickaël Guillard; 6 François Cros; 7 Oscar Jégou; 8 Anthony Jelonch.
Bench: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Régis Montagne, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Emmanuel Meafou, 21 Lenni Nouchi, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Kalvin Gourgues.
Six Nations preview – contenders, questions and betting angles
Selection storylines
France
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Dupont is back after a long lay-off, and Galthié immediately hands him the captaincy.
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With Ntamack injured, France pivot to a Dupont–Jalibert axis: more improvisation and tempo, slightly less “metronome control.”
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The French press angle is also about new faces and big omissions (notably Penaud/Alldritt/Fickou from the wider picture), signalling a harder-edged selection reset after winning 2025.
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Ireland
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Ireland arrive with a reshaped midfield/back three, and the big conversation is whether Prendergast can run the game in Paris with Ireland missing some of their usual ballast around him.
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Bundee Aki’s absence has been a major Irish talking point in the build-up (discipline/standards and what Ireland lose in gain-line punch).
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Recent head-to-head
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8 Mar 2025: Ireland 27–42 France (Dublin)
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2 Feb 2024: France 17–38 Ireland (Marseille)
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11 Feb 2023: Ireland 32–19 France (Dublin)
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12 Feb 2022: France 30–24 Ireland (Paris)
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14 Feb 2021: Ireland 13–15 France (Dublin)
That 2025 Dublin match matters: it’s the most recent reference point for how France can flip a tight contest into a scoreboard break with power off the bench and ruthless counterpunching.
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Key Match-ups
1) France’s kick-return and transition vs Ireland’s backfield
With Ramos and Bielle-Biarrey, France can turn “messy” exits into points fast. If Ireland’s back three are even slightly loose with spacing, France punish.
2) The halfback battle: tempo and stress
Dupont’s return isn’t just quality — it’s speed. If France can keep rucks quick, they drag Doris/Van der Flier into repeated “fold-and-fill” defence and create seams for Jalibert to play square.
3) Ireland’s ability to win collisions without Aki
McCloskey brings heft, but France will test him with line-speed and secondary hits. Ireland need Sheehan and Beirne to generate front-foot ball or Prendergast spends the night clearing his lines.
4) Bench geometry
France’s bench split leans into late power and aerial/defensive stability. If it’s within a score at 55–60 minutes, France look built to finish.
Understanding rugby markets – tries, handicaps and winning margins
Betting prediction (best-value angle)
Pick: France to win
France are at home, are the reigning champions, and the selection balance (Dupont back; a bench designed to raise the physical ceiling late) matches up well against an Ireland side still finding its post-Sexton attacking authority — and missing a key midfield enforcer.
If you want a bit more bite than the straight result:
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France -5.5 @1.32
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Total points over 46.5 @1.56
Projected score: France by 8–12.
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