Ireland's Grand Slam hopes are on the line in a week as they host France in what looks to be a decider for the 2025 Six Nations.
After a bit of a scare following Garry Ringrose's red card, Ireland came through to keep their 100% record in take thanks to Jamie Osborne's try and several penalties from Sam Prendergast. It was the first blip Ireland have had so far in this year's Six Nations as they started the campaign with 2 very impressive wins over England and Scotland.
France on the other hand have had an up and down Six Nations so far. Two huge thrashings of Wales and Italy, 43-0 and 73-24 respectively came on either side of a loss away at England. France looked completely off it at Twickenham as they were very sloppy, especially with their handling and a late Elliot Daly try cost them a chance at a Grand Slam this year.
However the 73-24 win over Italy was possibly the perfect response to any doubters about the true quality of this French team. 11 tries were scored as Antoine Dupont showed why many consider him the best player in the world today. They now want to play the role of spoilers as they travel to Dublin to become the first side to beat Ireland at the Aviva in the Six Nations since 2021 when they won 15-13 in Dublin.
France Handed Two Huge Injury Boosts Ahead Of Ireland Clash
If you were to try and describe this French side in one word, it is power. As good and as exciting as the French backline is, without the immense power from the forwards they wouldn't have the platform to allow Dupont and co the space to flourish. Les Bleus have some beasts in their pack and they have just been given an extra boost as Toulouse lock Emmanuel Meafou has been brought back into the squad ahead of Dublin clash.
The Australian-born second row was missing for the Italy thrashing following a lung infection but the 6ft 8, 140+kg mammoth is back now to likely line up beside Toulouse teammate Thibaud Flament in the second row. Another big return to Les Bleus is Gael Fickou. The former captain has been missing so far this Championship with a broken thumb but it looks like France's backline is back up to 100% with the inclusion of the 93-capped Racing 92 man.
La liste des 42 Bleus retenus pour Irlande-France 🇫🇷
Meafou convoqué, Bourgarit, Tatafu et Buros de retour 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pOypAnDcZg
— CANAL+ Rugby (@CanalplusRugby) March 1, 2025
One interesting inclusion in Fabien Galthié's squad is second row Joshua Brennan. Son of former Leinster flanker Trevor, Joshua Brennan has been part of the French squad so far this Championship but is yet to make his debut.
However one big exclusion in terms of Irish fans is Rabah Slimani. The Leinster prop initially made a miraculous return to the French set up after 6 years away following a great start to life in Dublin. Slimani has been crucial to Leinster's 15 game winning streak to start off the season, completely changing the side to being a scrum-dominant team where as before the scrums were a major weakpoint in the Leinster armour.
Next week is make or break for Ireland's Grand Slam hopes and it promises to be another classic next Saturday.
