By We have a France v Ireland prediction for you plus a breakdown of the odds, team news and matchups ahead of the Six Nations opening game.
How To Watch France v Ireland
When is France v Ireland
8.00 pm, Friday, February 2nd
TV Channel
ITV 1 and Virgin Media One
Who are the officiating team?
Referee: Karl Dickson (ENF)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (ENG), Jordan Way (AUS)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WAL)
Where is France v Ireland Being Played?
Orange Vélodrome, Marseille
France v Ireland Odds
| France v Ireland Betting Odds – Six Nations | ||
| Team | Odds | Chance |
| France | 4/7 | 63.6% |
| Ireland | 6/4 | 40% |
| Draw | 22/1 | 4.3% |
France, despite their Rugby World Cup Quarter-final exit at home, are 4/7 favourites for this game partly due to the consistency they tend to show with a French crowd behind them.
If you fancy Ireland to bounce back from their own World Cup heartbreak, they can be backed at 6/4 while the draw is priced up at 22/1.
Handicap Betting
France: -4 @ 10/11
Ireland: +4 @ 10/11
Handicap Draw: -4 @ 18/1
Click Below For Our Live France v Ireland Odds
Team News
France Team News
France are without their talismanic captain Antoine Dupont as he concentrates on his club career alongside the French 7s team, in his absence Maxime Lucu takes the number 9 jersey.
Jailbert gets the nod at 10 while Ntamack has been ruled out of the squad through injury.
France team to face Ireland
- Cryil Baille
- Pesto Mauvaka
- Uini Atonio
- Paul Gabrillagues
- Paul Willemse
- Francois Cros
- Charles Ollivon
- Gregory Alldritt (c)
- Maxime Lucu
- Matthieu Jalibert
- Yoram Moefana
- Jonathan Danty
- Gael Fickou
- Damian Penaud
- Thomas Ramos
Ireland Team News
The post-Sexton era begins here for Ireland as they gear up for their first game since the legendary fly-half’s retirement. Mack Hansen and Jimmy O’Brien miss out on the squad through injury.
Peter O’Mahony has been confirmed as captain, securing his starting spot, despite speculation about his long-term future with Munster and Ireland.
Ireland team to face France
- Andrew Porter
- Dan Sheehan
- Tadhg Furlong
- Joe McCarthy
- Tadhg Beirne
- Peter O’Mahony
- Josh van der Flier
- Caelan Doris
- Jamison Gibson-Park
- Jack Crowley
- James Lowe
- Bundee Aki
- Robbie Henshaw
- Calvin Nash
- Hugo Keenan
France v Ireland Weather Forecast
Perfect conditions for rugby are expected on Friday Night, with no rain and little wind forecasted.
Temperature
The temperature is predicted to be 10°C throughout the game.
Wind
Winds are expected to be in the region of 8 km/h.
Rain
There is a 0% chance of rain during this game according to the latest weather forecasts.
France v Ireland Preview
Form
France’s Form
Head Coach Fabien Galthié has turned French fortunes around since taking over in 2019. He guided them to a 2022 Grand Slam victory and entered the 2024 Six Nations with a win rate of 80% with 36 wins from 40 games.
France topped their RWC Pool which included an impressive 27-13 victory against New Zealand. However, heartbreak came at the Quarter-Final stage when they narrowly lost 28-29 to eventual winners South Africa.
Ireland’s Form
Ireland entered the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the World Number 1 side, and despite another Quarter-final stage exit, they remain in the top two in the world rankings behind only World Cup winners South Africa.
Ireland topped their pool at the tournament, including a brilliant 8-13 victory against the aforementioned winners South Africa. However, it was a painful exit again in the Quarter-finals, losing out to New Zealand 24-28 in a classic. The All Blacks went on to lose the final 11-12.
Matchups
France Attack v Ireland Defence
France came into this Six Nations campaign having scored the second most points at the Rugby World Cup with 238. Impressively that was 30 points more than tournament winners South Africa who played 2 more games than France.
Key to that threat is winger Damian Penaud who has 175 points in 48 appearances for France. Full-back Thomas Ramos will likely be on the kicking duties on Friday night along with being a try threat with 275 points for France in 31 games.
The French face an Irish side with a mean defence, in the 2023 Six Nations they had by far the best defence in the competition with just 72 points conceded across their 5 games. That continued into the World Cup where they conceded just 74 points in 5 games.
Ireland Attack v France Defence
Ireland are potent try scorers, their 214 points scored across their 5 RWC games was more than South Africa and Argentina who both played in two more games. It was only 7 less than England and 24 less than France.
Interestingly, from an Ireland point of view, Sexton’s retirement opens the door for Jack Crowley to take on kicking duties. Ireland has plenty of attacking talent, particularly on the wings with Lowe, Lamour, Nash and Stockdale all representing exciting options.
France had the meanest defence at the 2023 Rugby World Cup with just 61 points conceded (albeit they played 2 fewer games than the finalists) South Africa (88) and New Zealand (89).
France v Ireland Rugby Head-To-Head
All-Time Head-To-Head Record
Since 1909, France and Ireland have played each other in a total of 102 test matches. France have won 59 times, Ireland have won 36 times and 7 matches ended in draws.
Head-To-Head Results Last Five Matches
2023: Ireland won 32-19 in Dublin
2022: France won 30-24 in Saint-Denis
2021: France won 13-15 in Dublin
2020: France won 35-27 Saint-Denis
2019: Ireland won 26-14 in Dublin
Trends
France have won three of their last five games against Ireland. France’s last loss to Ireland at home came in 2018 when Ireland won 13-15 courtesy of a last-gasp Johnny Sexton drop goal.
Key Players
Maxime Lucu – France
Following the news that Antoine Dupont would be effectively “abstaining” from this tournament, the huge issue for France was always going to be the man to replace their talismanic captain. Lucu, who has been in Dupont’s shadow (not something to be ashamed of), is a 31-year-old scrum-half who plays his club Rugby for Bordeaux who he also captains.
It’s a big role to take on replacing Dupont, but he certainly has the pedigree to mark his stamp on Friday’s fixture.
Jack Crowley – Ireland
While France are without their leader and talisman (albeit temporarily), Ireland needs to fill that same void with a more permanent solution following the retirement of Johnny Sexton.
Step forward Munster man Jack Crowley who is widely expected to have the first shot at filling the 10-jersey on Friday Night. Crowley has shown himself to be a fly-half of tremendous ability with his performances for Munster, but being the heir to Sexton’s throne is a whole different ball game.
France v Ireland Prediction & Best Bet
Prediction: France 17-12 Ireland
This is incredibly difficult to predict, two sides who narrowly lost out at the Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final stage by a single point, they will both want to lay down a marker in the opening game of this tournament.
I’m not expecting it to be a runaway victory for either side, but I believe home advantage should be enough for France to grab a crucial opening night victory (similar to their World Cup opening night victory against New Zealand).
Best Bet: Damien Penaud First Try-Scorer @ 7/1
Click Below For Our Live France v Ireland Odds
*Prices subject to fluctuation.
