First the changes. I thought what the Irish squad and team needed was an element of stability. In that respect it was always going to be relatively straightforward with Mike Mullins being replaced by Rob Henderson.

That really is a result of the sort of form Henderson has shown whenever he has come on for Ireland. Having spoken to various people in London, his form for Wasps seems to have been first class all season. So he is obviously playing well and against a reasonably strong French backline he probably adds a little more solidity in defence.

Clearly with Horgan injured there was always going to be a change on the wing. My preference would have been for as much continuity as possible and the fact that the selectors have decided to move Maggs straight into the right wing and leave Denis Hickie where he is on the left is a good decision. Obviously it would have been better to be completely unchanged but it won't be a deciding factor in the match.

The game is extremely significant for both Ireland and France because for the first time for a while the French are playing against a resurgent Irish team. Very often it is a first fixture or a last fixture in the schedule and a lot of the season is either done or waiting to be done.

But the game is very important for Ireland in the sense that it will give them a measure of where they are against the strong sides. Some people were saying after the Italian match that if we went back to England then how would we do? The answer is we will know today because playing France in Paris is the same type of challenge.

We've had a real mix, a bad performance followed by two good performances but the French won't be under any illusions and they will be feeling a bit sore, as I understand it, about the decision on Magne. He seems to have made an issue about not being allowed to play claiming he was "done" a bit.

But the French pack is generally strong without having any great stars, especially now that Magne is gone. Magne's loss is a big blow to them because he is a world-class player and they will miss him.

There is quality in the backs as well although they'd be a better side if Lamaison was there. It's good for Ireland that he isn't. But France also have depth, so the fact that one or two of their leading players are not there, they can deal with because they've more depth than other countries.

I believe they will be quite wary of Ireland getting into the sort of rhythm they were able to generate against Scotland in the second half and against Italy for most of the match last time out. So France will be well prepared.

But as well as being prepared, they'll also be quite anxious to get a victory. In this respect it will be a very tough match because Ireland won't get the latitude they got against either Scotland or Italy and as a result will be a much, much different proposition to the other two games.

The one thing the Irish team has done is to get rid of the baggage of playing on losing sides, having poor form, etc. They are a young side and have built up quite a bit of confidence now.

There are some areas, though, where they will have to perform and if you go back to the good phases against Italy and Scotland, Kieron Dawson and the back row did very well to win a lot of good loose ball. I think mobility will be an issue for the Irish pack. They've got to make sure they are up to the pace.

We have also scored a number of very good tries over the last couple of games but some of them have been off the cuff, coming from loose play or knock-downs. There has been structured back play but I still think the backs need to work their moves in an even more structured way. In reality we've not been doing it that much. People have an image of it being almost perfect because of the tries we've scored but we are not at that point yet.

It will be interesting to see whether the team can keep its shape under more difficult conditions and whether it can reproduce that sort of form against a better side and under greater pressure all round.

The great danger is that through a poor performance we lose the progress that has been made. I think the team have made good progress, they've a good squad and a good management team. To win would would have an enormous upside because it confirms that they are capable of playing against and beating what might be termed more difficult opponents.

Overall it will clearly be a very difficult match for Ireland to win. The French will be determined on their home ground and without doubt will provide a real test.

(In an interview with Johnny Watterson)