The Albany Gazette - Ireland and France gear up for Six Nations blockbuster

Number one Ireland are seeking a record 13th successive home win against second-ranked France, who were the last team to beat the hosts at Lansdowne Road, in February 2021.

France achieved the Grand Slam last year and are bidding for a national record-extending 15th consecutive Test win.

They are the only top tier side Irish head coach Andy Farrell is yet to beat since he took over at the helm after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

AFP Sports picks out three things that could potentially tilt the balance in a match Farrell said "has a bit of spice about it".

Discipline order of the day

Both teams will wish to be on the right side of referee Wayne Barnes. Although they won their opening matches -- Ireland thumping Wales 34-10 and France seeing off a resilient Italy 29-24 -- they kept the officials busy.

The Irish largely went through their bad patch when they were comfortably ahead so could put it down to losing focus.

"You know when a referee says he loves a free-flowing game and we don't want to see penalties, well the game has rules for a reason and they're there to be refereed," said Farrell.

"We hope that we will be as disciplined as we possibly can be so therefore we expect the game to be refereed accordingly."

The French have taken their unusually ill-disciplined performance on the chin although backrow forward Gregory Alldritt says there should be no repeat.

"It's tough but fair and we have to raise our level," he said.

"This was a bit like our crash test. We know it, no more excuses."

Murray's chance to dispel doubters

It is hard to imagine there should be a question mark over a player set to win his 102nd cap but that is the case with Conor Murray.

The 33-year-old scrum-half is a fighter, though, and has kept plugging away despite losing his long-time slot as first choice scrum-half for Ireland to Jamison Gibson-Park.

He has also come under pressure for his province Munster with the youngster Craig Casey pressing his claims to take over the starting spot.

Murray's perceived weakness is he is not a quick passer like Gibson-Park which slows down any momentum for the backline.

However, if France are expecting to smother the Irish attack through targeting Murray then his long-time half-back partner Johnny Sexton will have put them right.

Murray certainly played his part when he came in as a late starter last Saturday against Wales after Gibson-Park suffered a hamstring injury.

"Not too long ago people thought he was the best scrum-half that we've ever had," said Sexton.

"And you know, there was certainly no doubt internally that anything would drop off with him.

"So I was delighted for him to come in and show his class once again. It was never a doubt from our point of view."

Murray will start despite his father having been placed in an induced coma following a serious road accident in the week.

Backrow set for all-action tussle

Antoine Dupont and Sexton have both been crowned World Player of the Year in the past but it is the present one Josh van der Flier -- trademark red scrumcap and all -- who will be licking his lips at erasing the threat of the dynamic French scrum-half.

Ireland may be lacking in a natural successor to Sexton at fly-half but they have an abundance of top class backrow forwards.

Van der Flier, veteran Peter O'Mahony and Caelan Doris reaped a rich harvest against the Welsh.

The French trio of Alldritt, former captain Charles Ollivon and Anthony Jelonch will also be hoping to be back at their rampaging best against the Irish.

"It's an all-action back row, perhaps one of the best in the world at the moment, with Van der Flier, Doris, O'Mahony," said Alldritt.

"We know what we're up against but whether it's their back row or the whole pack, it's hyper-mobile. It promises to be a great battle."

(T.Renner--BBZ)