Jacques Brunel was understandably delighted with what he saw from France in their win over Scotland last time out – to the extent he’s opted not to make a single change to the matchday 23 for the trip to Ireland this weekend.
Les Bleus got their 2019 Guinness Six Nations back on track with a superb 27-10 victory at the Stade de France in Round Three, putting to bed the opening-day collapse against Wales and the heavy defeat in Le Crunch at Twickenham.
Hope springs anew in the French camp, partly because of the youth that pervades the group.
The talented trio of Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack and Thomas Ramos that so galvanised the back-line in Paris have just six Test starts between them, while Guinness Man of the Match Demba Bamba is a hulking prop but just 20 years old.
Their inexperience suggests there may well be some growing pains along the way and a trip to the Aviva Stadium to face Ireland – whose only home Championship defeat in Joe Schmidt’s entire tenure was against England in Round One this year – will provide a completely different test to the home comforts of the French capital.
But Brunel is excited to see what his youthful team, and explosive scrum-half Antoine Dupont in particular, can offer in the Dublin cauldron.
“I am looking for our younger players to progress in every game,” said Brunel. “They have shown a lot of calm against Scotland but this will be another test.
“Antoine (Dupont) is improving, he gets over the gain-line but he mustn’t forget that he is a scrum-half, so has to be a field general and be able to control the game.
“He’s working on it. We know his ability to challenge defences [with his running] but he must also find a balance.
“We need to be more consistent and be able to reproduce what we did against Scotland
“The context of this match will be different and I hope our pack will put the half-backs in good positions.”
Dupont has lit up the 2019 Guinness Six Nations with an attacking skillset perhaps unmatched by any other scrum-half in world rugby.
Despite playing only one-and-a-half matches, he has completed the joint-most offloads (6), second-most linebreaks (4), sixth-most tackle breaks (3), as well as ranking in the top 15 for metres made (169) of any player, regardless of position or country in this year’s Championship.
The 22-year-old epitomises the fearless attitude now running through Les Bleus and Brunel admits he has seen an uptick in self-assurance since the Scotland win.
“Obviously all teams find confidence through positive results,” added the coach. “It is clear that we now need to put together a series of good performance and, beyond the result, it is about the quality that we show in our matches.
“That’s what gives you confidence and allows you to move forward. Victory gives enthusiasm and desire to the players to continue to train. Everything is easier.”
For their part, Ireland are back in the Championship title hunt after victories over Scotland and Italy to respond to that Round One defeat to England.
They’ll be favourites, especially in Dublin, but Brunel claims France will be prepared to give them all they can handle.
And after England’s kicking from hand into the acres of space behind the French defence sunk Les Bleus’ chances at Twickenham, the coach insists his team are prepared for another aerial bombardment at the Aviva Stadium.
“We work on this every week,” said Brunel. “The Irish know how to put you under pressure with high kicks, notably with Conor Murray, and we worked on this specifically.
“We will have to make smart choices. They have a very efficient defence and they are very good in the rucks.
“I’m expecting a lot from the team. Ireland are able to play at great speed but we have talented players who can compete with this team and they performed well against Scotland.
“Italy gave Ireland a great battle and we hope to be able to offer them the resistance and ambition that we showed in the last match.”
