Ireland ready to back up the talk and deliver in France

There has been a noticeable bullishness about the Irish players and management this week.

Talk of revenge.

Talk of silencing the Stade Marcel-Michelin trumpets.

Talk of winning.

Talk of history.

It's only two years ago that Ireland started their Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign away to France in Le Mans, and new head coach Scott Bemand said he wanted to see his team "fire some shots" at their opponents.

Talk of winning, even two years ago, would have been fanciful to say the least.

They did, as their coach wished, "fire some shots" back in 2024 at Stade Marie-Marvingt, late tries for Aoife Dalton and Aoife Wafer giving them some silver linings in an otherwise routine 38-17 French win.

But they return this evening a completely different team, and the confidence coming from the Irish camp is fully justified.

Even before a ball has been kicked, they have been firing some shots of the verbal kind; Aoife Wafer , Stacey Flood and captain Erin King all stoking the flames and doing what they can to throw the French off their game.

It may well blow up in their faces, but only three years removed from the dismal wooden-spoon campaign of 2023, it’s been a refreshing development to see Ireland put pressure on one of the world’s best teams, and put expectation on themselves.

It’s worth remembering that no Irish women’s team has ever beaten the French in France.

Several of the current group weren't even playing rugby when Ireland last won against Les Bleues in the Six Nations nine years ago.

The belief that this current group have is not built on sand, and they know that they could and probably should have claimed at least one win against this weekend’s opponents last year.

Their two meetings in 2025 both went down to the final 10 minutes; a late converted try and penalty saw France win by 12 in Belfast in March of last year, before the World Cup quarter-final in September where Ireland raced out to a 13-0 lead, eventually losing 18-13.

The presence of Wafer (below) and Axelle Berthoumieu should put some extra bite (pun intended) into this evening’s clash.

The French flanker is named in the starting team this evening, seven months on from picking up a nine-game suspension for a bite on Ireland’s star player, which saw her miss her country’s semi-final and third-place play-off at the World Cup.

The fact that Berthoumieu needed to go to such lengths to disrupt Wafer is illustrative of her influence on the game.

The 23-year-old missed Ireland’s World Cup pool games and was rushed back from a knee injury for the quarter-final, where she put in 27 carries and won two jackal turnovers , and if Ireland are to record a famous win in Clermont-Ferrand tonight, the Harlequins number 8 will be integral to it.

The first two games of this championship reflect her importance to Ireland.

While England weren’t at their best against Ireland in the opening round at Twickenham, they were able to keep them at arm’s length throughout because of how well they targeted her, limiting Wafer to just three carries.

Last Saturday in Galway, the Wexford woman ran riot against Italy at Dexcom Stadium, making 87 metres off just 13 carries, giving them constant gainline success, and allowing scrum-half Emily Lane move the ball fast and wide, which resulted in 57 points and nine tries.

Scores won’t come as easily this week, especially against a French side that have been watertight defensively through the opening two rounds.

While Francois Ratier’s side would always have been expected to be comfortable against Italy and Wales in their opening two rounds, they have given the opposition just nine entries to the 22 on average across the first couple of games, conceding just 1.6 points per entry.

Their tackle success rate of 89.3% is the best in the championship.

That tightness in defence will be familiar to Ireland, after they spent 36 phases hammering away at the French line just before half time in that World Cup quarter-final, only to be held out.

While France have been hard to score against, they have been slow to get out of the blocks, scoring just 12 of their 78 points so far in the championship in the first half of games.

Former Canada and Bordelais coach Ratier, who replaced the previous head coaches David Ortiz and Gaelle Mignot, has used the early rounds of this championship to shake up his squad and blood new faces.

Four of his starting team – full-back Pauline Barrat, wing Anais Grando, centre Aubane Roussett and hooker Mathilde Lazarko – made their debuts in the opening round of the championship, while there are two more rookies on the bench, forwards Cloe Correa and Siobhan Sogeta.

There are, however, still a core of familiar faces.

Towering lock Madoussou Fall-Raclot has been among the best players on the pitch in each of their last three meetings, and leads the championship in dominant carries with 11.

She is one of just five of this weekend’s starters who are retained from the World Cup quarter-final XV, along with scrum-half Pauline Bourdon-Sansus, and back rows Berthoumieu, Lea Champon and Manae Feleu.

While 17 of Ireland’s matchday squad are retained from that game, there are still seven changes to the starting team , most notably Dorothy Wall and King, both of whom missed the World Cup due to injury.

It remains a young Irish team, with an average age in this week’s matchday 23 of just 25, but it’s fast becoming an experienced and deep squad, with the likes of Neve Jones, Niamh O’Dowd, Sam Monaghan, Eve Higgins and Anna McGann available to come off the bench.

Even playing at one of rugby’s most iconic fortresses, Stade Marcel-Michelin, shouldn’t be something to fear, considering they didn’t appear to be fazed by 77,000 people at Twickenham two weeks ago.

"We've got the benefit now with our group of having come through the World Cup where we had full stadiums, a lot of noise, lot of expectation, even if it's like internal expectation," Bemand (below) said.

"Going away to France is a class experience.

We were away in England two weeks ago, so we've had a recent opportunity of stepping into that sort of arena.

"I saw a completely different group to two years ago walking into that space.

So as we continue to evolve, as we continue to get more confident in ourselves and our performances, I think we're ready for this one.

"So this now becomes an excitement, an anticipation rather than nerves and of what could happen."
Two years on from "firing some shots", now is the time for Ireland to back up their fighting talk, and deliver a knockout blow.

France: Pauline Barrat; Anaïs Grando, Aubane Rousset, Téani Feleu, Léa Murie; Carla Arbez, Pauline Bourdon Sansus; Ambre Mwayembe, Mathilde Lazarko, Assia Khalfaoui; Kiara Zago, Madoussou Fall Raclot; Axelle Berthoumieu, Manaé Feleu (capt), Léa Champon.

Replacements : Élisa Riffonneau, Yllana Brosseau, Rose Bernadou, Cloé Correa, Siobhan Soqeta, Charlotte Escudero, Alexandra Chambon, Lina Queyroi.

Ireland: Stacey Flood; Béibhinn Parsons, Nancy McGillivray, Robyn O'Connor; Dannah O'Brien, Emily Lane; Ellena Perry, Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald; Dorothy Wall, Fiona Tuite; Brittany Hogan, Erin King (capt), Aoife Wafer.

Replacements: Niamh O'Dowd, Neve Jones, Eilís Cahill, Sam Monaghan, Ruth Campbell, Katie Whelan, Eve Higgins, Anna McGann.

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