Ireland's Six Nations clash this weekend is set to be a fascinating affair. A meeting of the two sides who like most likely to win the tournament, the result in Paris is likely to go a long way towards determining who will claim this year's championship.
It is difficult to know what way this game will go. The French will be favourites at home, although Andy Farrell will no doubt be confident that his side can pull out the victory.
It is set to be a ferocious affair with some high pace rugby played on both sides. There is also an interesting clash of styles, with France's more off the cuff approach going toe-to-toe with Ireland's organised platform of attack.
Ronan O'Gara looks forward to intriguing Six Nations clash
Ronan O'Gara is certainly someone that is very familiar with the approaches of both teams here, having spent a number of years coaching on the continent.
Speaking on the Irish Examiner Six Nations Podcast, the former Munster man summed up how France's style differed from Ireland's.
They actually do put a huge emphasis on unstructured play, chaos coming alive and that...
It's going to be really fascinating with the clash of styles this weekend. You've got an organised attacking framework against a completely chaotic 'jouer be bou', express yourself in the French, just going for it but actually putting tempo and speed in your game.
They actually train that. They train that a lot in the fact that those scenarios wouldn't be the first time they have seen them. What could be different is the personnel with the ball, they all have a licence to offload whenever they want.
They are probably frustrated with foreigners coming in and the fact that 'we are never going to be disciplined like the English or Irish people, but really doesn't interest us'.
I think the French have their identity back, they know what they stand for and how they want to play...
The French don't like rucking. Ireland are fascinated with the ruck, but the French don't want to fall. Keep the ball alive, keep it upright, have a bit of 'profounder' (which means depth), and come onto the ball. There is that in examples all the time, they love unstructured play.
I suppose with the Anglo-Saxon model, what you see with Ireland now, it is all organised. When you go to to width, it is option A, B, and C. When the French go to width, it's just play...
The speed of the pass will always beat the speed of the man, that's how they see it. It is scientifically proven, if you want to pass the ball across the pitch that is faster.
Andy Farrell will no doubt be hoping that France's looser approach will lead to more mistakes from the home side, although they have proven to be all but unstoppable when things have clicked for them in recent times.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in Paris on Saturday afternoon.
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