High stakes as Six Nations superpowers collide

Men’s Six Nations: Ireland v France

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 8 March Kick-off: 14:15 GMT

Coverage: Listen live on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, Radio Ulster & BBC Sounds; text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app; watch on ITV1

Hype, high stakes and history. Saturday’s Six Nations showdown between Ireland and France has it all.

Having claimed the past three titles (France in 2022, Ireland in 2023 and 2024), a penultimate-round fixture between the northern hemisphere’s top two loomed large over the opening weeks of the competition.

And while France’s defeat by England in round two ended the possibility of a ‘Grand Slam shootout’, the big picture is still beautifully poised.

Ireland are two wins from the Grand Slam and a historic hat-trick of titles, but could win the championship with a game to spare on Saturday.

France are best placed to stop them. Victory on Saturday would put Les Bleus in the driving seat with England – who play Italy on Sunday – still very much in the mix.

When green meets blue, it is usually unmissable. On France’s last visit to Dublin two years ago, Ireland won an enthralling slugfest, now regularly mentioned in ‘greatest Six Nations games’ conversations.

Last year in Marseille, Ireland roared to a 38-17 win. Antoine Dupont was absent and Paul Willemse’s first-half red card hampered the French cause, but it was still looked upon as a statement Irish triumph.

With Dupont back and the suitably high stakes, this year’s contest already looked great on paper, but events over the past week have packed even more intrigue into this rivalry’s latest chapter.

First, the fallout from Garry Ringrose’s suspension has stirred tensions. Ringrose was handed a three-game ban following his red card against Wales. It will be reduced to two if he attends World Rugby’s Coaching Intervention Programme.

Given the ban covered Leinster’s game with Cardiff last week, Ringrose should be back to face Italy next week, which former Irish international Donncha O’Callaghan labelled “incredibly lucky”.

France’s Romain Ntamack was not so fortunate. After being red carded against Wales, the fly-half’s ban did not include one of Toulouse’s Top 14 games and he subsequently missed France’s defeat by England and win in Italy.

The win over Wales in the first match of the 2025 Championship was injury-plagued Ntamack’s first France appearance for 18 months. He and Damian Penaud – who was dropped for the Italy game – do not lack motivation heading to Dublin.

Their return has, however, been overshadowed by the ‘Bomb Squad’.

Having trialled it in the crushing win over Italy, head coach Fabien Galthie has stuck with the bold tactic of packing seven forwards and just one back on to his bench.

In Rome, six France forwards were introduced at the same time. It did not backfire then, but using it against a superior pack – albeit one still shorn of Tadhg Furlong – is an audacious move by Galthie, whose future could hinge on how Saturday goes.

Beyond plumping for the 7:1 bench, Galthie has done his bit to stir the pot in the build-up by calling for “decisive and consistent refereeing” from Australian official Angus Gardner.

Galthie referenced James Lowe’s try in the 2023 fixture, which was awarded to Ireland after a lengthy TMO review to determine whether his foot had been in touch before he spectacularly finished in the corner.

That, alongside legendary ex-France footballer Thierry Henry’s curiously timed visit to the French camp earlier this week, has simply added to the intrigue.

Ireland, of course, faced – and toppled – a ‘Bomb Squad’ before in their World Cup pool-stage win over South Africa in 2023.

Here, Irish interim boss Simon Easterby has reverted to a six-two split for the first time since last year’s loss to England.

In that game, Ireland lost starting wing Calvin Nash and his replacement Ciaran Frawley to failed head injury assessments, leaving influential scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park on the wing for the last 30 minutes.

Against France, Easterby has picked Conor Murray and Jack Crowley as the backline replacements and Jamie Osborne – a left-footed full-back – on the right wing in Mack Hansen’s absence.

Again, it is a gamble: Osborne has never played there, but his versatility – he can also cover 15, 12 and 11 – has convinced Easterby that this is the best path to victory.

Osborne will come up against France’s jet-heeled winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who already has five tries in this year’s tournament. Bielle-Biarrey is faster than Osborne, but the Irish coaches must feel the Leinster player can win the aerial battle.

James Lowe v Penaud on the opposite wing should prove equally fascinating.

Penaud is one try off equalling Serge Blanco’s French record of 38 tries. He will be fired up after being dropped against Italy, but Lowe is enjoying a fine tournament, leading Ireland in try assists (four), line-breaks (eight), metres carried (299.5) and metres gained (199.5).

The emotional stakes for Ireland had already been heightened by Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray’s joint retirement announcement last week.

Saturday will be a Dublin farewell for the trio – who boast a combined 372 Test outings – before next week’s trip to Italy, while fit-again captain Caelan Doris, Finlay Bealham and Jack Conan will all win their 50th caps.

Harnessing the prospect of a fitting Aviva Stadium send-off for former captain O’Mahony, most-capped player Healy and three-time British and Irish Lion Murray could be an added weapon in the holders’ armoury.

“I suppose you don’t want to get overly emotional and make it too big a thing and get sidetracked from the main objective,” Doris said of the legendary trio’s home swansong.

“But it’s been thrown in as an extra motivational factor and it’s definitely something that we’ll think of and hopefully it will give us an extra edge.”