It’s top versus second in the Six Nations on Saturday afternoon as Ireland host France at the Aviva Stadium.
The home side are three points better off going into the penultimate round of fixtures, with England being the only other possible contenders to lift the 2025 Six Nations trophy.
The Irish have won all three of their games in the competition so far while France come into this game off the back of a 24-73 demolition of Italy. This gave them a bonus point win, which could make all the difference in the final reckoning.
IRELAND VS FRANCE PREVIEW
Ireland have been the most successful team in the Six Nations in recent years, having won five of the last 11 championships since 2014. The current table-toppers are looking to secure their third consecutive title this time around.
The Irish have been the team of the tournament so far, dispatching England (27-22), Scotland (18-32) and Wales (18-27) en route to the top of the table. This means they have already secured the Triple Crown too.
Captain Caelan Doris will be welcomed back into the fold and will earn his 50th Test cap alongside Finlay Bealham and Jack Conan, who are also expected to reach the half-century mark.
Peter O’Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray will be hoping for a victorious send-off as the trio play their final games for the Irish in Dublin before retiring after the tournament.
Hugo Keenan will return at fullback, with Jamie Osborne on the left wing and James Lowe moving over to the right.
Romain Ntamack and Damian Penaud will return for France, the former from suspension and the latter having been dropped for the Italy game. They will go with seven forwards and just one back on the bench, like they did in their mauling of Italy two weeks ago.
IRELAND VS FRANCE PREDICTIONS
Ireland Win
Ireland are the form team right now, having won all three of their Six Nations games so far. Having home advantage will undoubtedly help them too, but it must be noted that all of their victories have been narrow affairs.
Despite this, Ireland know that if they win, all they would need to do is avoid a shock defeat in Rome in their last game to claim the Six Nations crown again.
France Win
France have become remarkably consistent since appointing Fabien Galthié as head coach in 2019, winning 44 of his 57 matches in charge. They have real quality in the ranks and defeated Japan (52-12), New Zealand (30-29) and Argentina (37-23) in the Autumn Series.
They go into this encounter having destroyed Wales 43-0 in their opening fixture and pummelling Italy 24-73 in their last. Their only blemish was a narrow 26-25 defeat to England in-between, where they conceded a last-minute try.
IRELAND VS FRANCE – BETTING TIPS
Ireland Win
Home advantage is so important in the Six Nations, with six of the nine matches in the competition so far being won by the hosts. With two of the remaining three matches having been won by Ireland on the road, things bode well for an Irish win here.
Ireland to Win by Under 10 Points
While I predict an Ireland win, it is clear that France will be their toughest opponents yet. Ireland’s average margin of victory in their first three games has been a little over 9 points and they face a France side that has conceded the fewest number of points in the competition so far (50).
Despite this, Ireland are the second-highest scorers (86) in the Six Nations after France (141) and have the second-tightest defence (58). Expect the two sides to cancel each other out.
HEAD-TO-HEAD AND KEY STATS
France have won 59 of the 103 encounters between the two sides, with Ireland being victorious on 37 occasions. There have been seven draws.
Ireland have won seven of the last 10 matches between the two countries, but France have won three of the last five in the Six Nations.
Despite this, Ireland have won the last two Six Nations fixtures – 17-38 in 2024 and 32-19 in 2023.
