THE FRENCH international side are unusual in their preparation for matches. Almost the entire emphasis is on their own style of play and little attention is given to a game plan suited to their opposition; As a result of this when they are good they are very, very good but when they are bad they are awful as they were against Scotland a couple of weeks ago.

There is no doubt that they are under tremendous pressure to produce a big performance against Ireland this afternoon. Their coach, Jean Claud Skrela, retired from international rugby because of his dislike for what he described as the Fouroux style which, although successful, was completely forward orientated.

The French coach sees himself as a man with a mission: to bring flair and style back into the French side. To assist him in his quest he has Jo Maso as his assistant coach. Maso is regarded by many as having been one of the most talented French backs of his generation but one who was denied the opportunity to win more caps because of his perceived individualism.

Skrela has made it clear also that he is not interested in "once off" results. He desires a team capable of producing winning performances on a consecutive basis with the objective of a Grand Slam and possibly a World Cup.

Skrela's own coaching career with Toulouse, first as an assistant to Pierre Villepreux at Toulouse and then as coach, have resulted in Toulouse dominating French club rugby in the recent past in a manner that was only equalled by the dominant Beziers team of the 1970s and early 80s.

Skrela inherited a team as all coaches do. He did not get an opportunity to put his own imprint on selection until the disaster at Murrayfield. Make no mistake about it this team has been picked to play the kind of game that Skrela wants and I suspect they will do that right from the kick off.

Take for example the new wing forward Richard Castel, who cannot command a first team place in the current Toulouse side. As recently as last weekend he was substituted before the end of an important championship game, not as you might think to protect him for the international, but because the Toulouse management were not happy with his performance.

In the dressingroom afterwards he proclaimed to all the journalists that he would have leave Toulouse while the current management stayed there because it looked as though he was never going to get a first team place during their reign.

Thomas Castaignede, on the other hand was a Srve for Toulouse in the same match and only played for the last 15 minutes at out half replacing Christophe Deylaud, the French out half in the last World Cup. While Deylaud may not be a favourite with the French selectors he is still very much the number one man in Toulouse. Skrela has, therefore, picked two players from his former club who would not be regarded as number one in their club positions. You cannot display more single mindedness than that.

A lot of people in Ireland are surprised that Benazzi is moved to the second row. There is a view held by many people including his own coach in Agen, Daniel Dubroca, that this is Benazzi's best position. Playing in the second row will not prevent him from producing those devastating runs which are the greatest strength of his game. His defence in the back row was regarded as a weakness and he is not a great link player, an ability which Skrela requires.

There is no way, after the Scottish match, that Merle was going to retain his place. Scotland has cleverly picked him out as a weakness because of his inability to jump and his propensity for giving away penalties.

France are still well aware that they can share this championship by winning their remaining matches. Having beaten England, who have been their bogey team in recent years, they probably allowed themselves a false sense of confidence going to Murrayfield. They should have been warned by their statistics there over the years. They will know too that there is every possibility that England, or the rejuvenated Welsh, may beat the Scots.

The French will, if they are allowed, start this match at an incredible pace and will attempt to blow the Irish team off the park in the first 15 minutes. If they are allowed to do so it could be a very difficult afternoon. However, if the Irish side manage to upset them and stay close to them then the longer the game goes on, the more doubts will come into the French mind.

Make no mistake about it Ireland have not played against a less experienced, untried French side for a long time. Likewise I have not seen a French team take the field before without at least one recognised hard man included. This does not mean that they are going to be soft, but at least the concentration will be primarily on the ball rather than on the man.

Where does this leave Ireland? In my opinion it leaves them in a better position going to Paris than they have been for many years. They were soundly criticised for their performance against Scotland and that will not have been forgotten. The front row must prove that their performance was the exception rather than the rule and that they are still capable of living up to their reputations.

Fulcher and Johns have to prove that the absence of Francis is justified and that they offer a better option over the 80 minutes. Davidson will also want to justify the selectors' decision and Corkery can be relied upon to produce another big performance. Victor Costello will also want to prove that his omission against Scotland was a mistake but I hope the front five will give him a better platform off which to work.

Niall Hogan will relish the opportunity to reestablish himself in the number nine jersey and to show that, apart from his scrum half play, and in particular his defence work, that the side needs his leadership ability.

The selection of David Humphreys is one that I welcome and which I hope will work out. He appears to be a good balance between Eric Elwood and Paul Burke and is, probably, a more rounded player than either.

The two centres did quite well against Scotland but I suspect that there will be more emphasis on not allowing the ball carrier to get beyond them in the tackle even if they are stopped, as they were against Scotland, because this allows the support a target to run into.

Niall Woods and Richard Wallace both have an awful lot to prove. We know they are capable of running in attack but there have always been question marks about their defence. They will certainly get a chance to prove that they can defend today. Finally Jim Staples will have been hurt more than anybody by the Scottish performance. However, he has always struck me as a confident individual and I suspect that he will be more prepared to countenance an upset than some of his predecessors going to Paris.

Ireland must take the game to France, they must not let them come at us. This applies particularly to the tackling. If they allow the French ball carrier to come to them rather than meeting them in the tackle they will not stop the charge. We should adopt the rucking game similar to the one played by Scotland. The French do not like rucking either by the opposition or among themselves. They like to play on their feet whenever possible.

If you have ever watched or played French club rugby as I have you will understand why. I don't see us preventing Roumat from getting his own possession in the line out but still I think we should be comfortable on our own throw with our greater options. Hopefully we will be able to prevent Roumat from getting the ball too cleanly and thereby prevent the French from building a platform in the line out.

I don't see much difference between the teams in the set scrums, certainly in the initial stages.

It will be interesting to see how the front row perform in the last 20 minutes. My greatest concern again is the back row. In the continued absence of Eddie Halvey I would have included Denis McBride for his leadership. This job, I suspect, will fall to Niall Hogan, who will have to call the shots in both attack and defence for his back row.

I hope I am wrong but I don't believe the back row selected are suitable to a rucking game. Maybe our game plan hasn't changed since the Scottish match. I sincerely hope we are not going to kick away a hard earned ball, particularly as Sadourny Ntamak and Saint Andre are likely to punish any errors in this area.

Previous form must make France strong favourites. However, if the Irish side can get among them at the beginning and upset the French pattern, anything could happen. I would be extremely happy if all the Irish players can leave the pitch at the final whistle proud of their performance. We can ask little more than that from anybody.

Imagine the effect on French morale if we scored an early try.