France v Ireland team news:While it may well be a case of better the devil you know for Declan Kidney and his coaching staff, the appearance of Vincent Clerc on the French team sheet will give the Irish backroom team plenty of cause for concern. The Toulouse wing replaces Benjamin Fall and will relish renewing acquaintances with a side he has punished frequently in the past.
Clerc’s inclusion on the right wing, in place of the injured Fall, is one of two changes made by France coach Marc Lievremont, with Alexis Palisson replacing Aurelien Rougerie on the opposite wing.
Among the replacements, experienced prop Sylvain Marconnet takes over from Luc Ducalcon, who was also sidelined by an injury sustained at Murrayfield. With Clerc promoted to the starting line-up, Julien Malzieu is also added to provide cover.
Clerc has proved a thorn in Ireland’s side all too often over the years, scoring seven tries in just five appearances and a hat-trick the last time the sides met at the Stade de France.
Having now slipped down the pecking order at international level, what better opportunity than a clash with Les Verts to remind Lievremont what he can offer.
"You don’t change a winning team,” said Lievremont at today’s team announcement. “Playing Vincent Clerc from the start shouldn’t cause a debate, there was a lot of discussion on who to play on the left wing.
“We decided to go with the versatility and left foot of Alexis Palisson. We know the qualities of Julien Malzieu but it seemed interesting to us to have the presence of Alexis alongside Clement Poitrenaud.
"Considering the kicking game the Irish have, his left foot can help us clear our lines. We need more variety in our game, more territorial kicking. We must adapt to the Irish defence. They are very well organized, they know when to slow the play down, so we will have to bring more width to our game."
In the centre, Mathieu Bastareaud’s inclusion alongside Yannick Jauzion should ensure a fascinating contest with Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy.
Bastareaud, a cousin of French soccer international William Gallas, scored two tries against Scotland at the weekend and the 21-year-old’s 17st 7lb frame will again seek to punch gaping holes in the Irish midfield.
But one suspects it is up front that the outcome of ‘Le Crunch’ will be decided. While Kidney awaits news on the fitness of Stephen Ferris, Lievremont is again able to call upon one of the more formidable backrow combinations in world rugby in Thierry Dusautoir, Fulgence Ouedraogo and the peerless Imanol Harinordoquy.
Harinordoquy, Nicolas Mas and Lionel Nallet will seek to disrupt the Irish lineout while a front row including Thomas Domingo and Nicolas Mas will exert huge pressure on the Irish scrum.
Looking ahead to Saturday, Lievremont believes both sides will raise their games after labourious wins on the opening weekend.
“They're an impressive team," the coach said of Ireland. "They have an attention to detail and a pragmatism that reminds me of the Australian team.
"They are less spectacular than Wales or the All Blacks but play an incredibly efficient game, and they have conceded the least penalties in the Six Nations for some time now."
Due to heavy snowfall south of Paris, Lievremont was forced to conduct today’s session on a synthetic pitch, the weather limiting limiting much of the work to close quarters training.
France(v Ireland): Clément Poitrenaud (Toulouse); Vincent Clerc (Toulouse), Mathieu Bastareaud (Stade Français), Yannick Jauzion (Toulouse), Alexis Palisson (Brive); François Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Morgan Parra (Clermont); Thomas Domingo (Clermont), William Servat (Toulouse), Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), Lionel Nallet (Racing-Métro), Pascal Pape (Stade Français); Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Fulgence Ouedraogo (Montpellier), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz) Replacements:Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Français), Sylvain Marconnet (Stade Français), Julien Pierre (Clermont), Julien Bonnaire (Clermont), Frédéric Michalak (Stade Toulousain), David Marty (Perpignan), Julien Malzieu (Clermont).