Head-To-Head: Ireland v France

A statistical preview of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations final round clash between Ireland and France at the Stade de France (kick-off 9.05pm local time/8.05pm Irish time).

2020 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, October 31

FRANCE (3rd) v IRELAND (1st), Stade de France, 9.05pm local time/8.05pm Irish time (live Virgin Media One/BBC 2&1/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra/FR2/DMAX/NBC/IRFU Live Blog)

FRANCE: Anthony Bouthier (Montpellier); Vincent Rattez (Montpellier), Virimi Vakatawa (Racing 92), Arthur Vincent (Montpellier), Gael Fickou (Stade Francais); Romain Ntamack (Toulouse), Antoine Dupont (Toulouse); Cyril Baille (Toulouse), Julien Marchand (Toulouse), Mohamed Haouas (Montpellier), Bernard le Roux (Racing 92), Paul Willemse (Montpellier), Francois Cros (Toulouse), Charles Ollivon (Toulon) (capt), Gregory Alldritt (La Rochelle).

Replacements: Camille Chat (Racing 92), Jean-Baptiste Gros (Toulon), Demba Bamba (Lyon), Romain Taofifenua (Toulon), Dylan Cretin (Lyon), Baptiste Serin (Toulon), Arthur Retiere (La Rochelle), Thomas Ramos (Toulouse).

IRELAND: Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Caelan Doris (UCD/Leinster), Will Connors (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).

Replacements: Dave Heffernan (Buccaneers/Connacht), Ed Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht), Ultan Dillane (Galway Corinthians/Connacht), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster).

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley, Karl Dickson (both England)
Television Match Official: Luke Pearce (England)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 98
France Won – 56
Ireland Won – 35
Drawn – 7

Ireland v France – Results Since 2000:

2000: Ireland won 27-25, Paris
2001: Ireland won 22-15, Dublin
2002: France won 44-5, Paris
2003: Ireland won 15-12, Dublin; France won 43-21, Melbourne
2004: France won 35-17, Paris
2005: France won 26-19, Dublin
2006: France won 43-31, Paris
2007: France won 20-17, Dublin; France won 25-3, Paris
2008: France won 26-21, Paris
2009: Ireland won 30-21, Dublin
2010: France won 33-10, Paris
2011: France won 25-22, Dublin; France won 19-12, Bordeaux; France won 26-22, Dublin
2012: 17-17 draw, Paris
2013: 13-13 draw, Dublin
2014: Ireland won 22-20, Paris
2015: Ireland won 18-11, Dublin; Ireland won 24-9, Cardiff
2016: France won 10-9, Paris
2017: Ireland won 19-9, Dublin
2018: Ireland won 15-13, Paris
2019: Ireland won 26-14, Dublin

Biggest Wins:

France: Points: 45-10, 1996 Five Nations; Margin: 44-5, 2002 Six Nations

Ireland: Points: 30-21, 2009 Six Nations; Margin: 24-0, 1913 Five Nations

Individual Records In The Series:

Most Tries In A Match: France 3 (Christian Darrouy 1963, David Venditti 1967, Vincent Clerc 2007); Ireland 3 (Joe Quinn 1913, Brian O’Driscoll 2000)

Most Points In A Match: France 26 (Thierry Lacroix (1995 RWC); Ireland 17 (Michael Kiernan 1989, Ronan O’Gara 2001 and 2007, Jonathan Sexton 2014)

Most Appearances – Ireland v France:

16 – Rory Best, Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara
15 – Willie John McBride, Brian O’Driscoll, Fergus Slattery
14 – Mike Gibson
13 – John Hayes, Jamie Heaslip, Philippe Sella
12 – Cian Healy, Rob Kearney, Ken Kennedy, Tom Kiernan, Phil Orr, Fabien Pelous

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v France:

127 – Ronan O’Gara
104 – Jonathan Sexton
73 – Michael Kiernan
61 – Morgan Parra
58 – Ollie Campbell
55 – Eric Elwood
50 – Didier Camberabero
46 – Thierry Lacroix, Frederic Michalak
40 – Vincent Clerc, David Humphreys, Brian O’Driscoll
39 – Jean-Baptise Elissalde

Top Try Scorers – Ireland v France:

8 – Vincent Clerc, Christian Darrouy, Brian O’Driscoll
6 – George Stephenson
5 – Patrice Lagisquet, Emile Ntamack, Joseph Quinn, Philippe Saint-André
4 – Serge Blanco, Niall Brophy, Cedric Heymans, Adolphe Jaureguy, Jim McCarthy, Eugene Ribere, Philippe Sella, Jonathan Sexton

France – Form Guide From Start Of The 2019 Six Nations:

Lost 24-19 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 44-8 v England away (Six Nations)
Won 27-10 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Lost 26-14 v Ireland away (Six Nations)
Won 25-14 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 32-3 v Scotland home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 17-14 v Scotland away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 47-19 v Italy home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 23-21 v Argentina neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool C)
Won 33-9 v USA neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool C)
Won 23-21 v Tonga neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool C)
Lost 20-19 v Wales neutral (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final)
Won 24-17 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 35-22 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Won 27-23 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Lost 28-17 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 38-21 v Wales home (Autumn Test)

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2019 Six Nations:

Lost 32-20 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 22-13 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 26-16 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 26-14 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 25-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 29-10 v Italy home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Lost 57-15 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 22-17 v Wales away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 19-10 v Wales home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Won 27-3 v Scotland neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 19-12 v Japan away (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 35-0 v Russia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 47-5 v Samoa neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 46-14 v New Zealand neutral (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final)
Won 18-14 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 24-14 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 24-12 v England away (Six Nations)
Won 50-17 v Italy home (Six Nations)

International Championship All-Time Records:

Points –
557 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
546 Jonny Wilkinson (England)
467 Stephen Jones (Wales)
441 Owen Farrell (England)
421 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
406 Neil Jenkins (Wales)
403 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
400 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
290 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
270 David Humphreys (Ireland)
232 Paul Grayson (England)

Tries –
26 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
24 Ian Smith (Scotland)
22 Shane Williams (Wales)
20 George North (Wales)
18 Gareth Edwards (Wales)
18 Cyril Lowe (England)
18 Rory Underwood (England)

Caps –
69 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
64 Rory Best (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
57 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
55 Ross Ford (Scotland)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
54 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
53 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
53 Willie John McBride (Ireland)
53 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
51 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
51 Paul O’Connell (Ireland)
51 Martyn Williams (Wales)
50 Stephen Jones (Wales)
50 Philippe Sella (France)
50 Rory Underwood (England)

France – Most-Capped Players:

118 Fabien Pelous
111 Philippe Sella
98 Raphael Ibanez
93 Serge Blanco
89 Olivier Magne
86 Damien Traille
85 Nicolas Mas
84 Sylvain Marconnet
83 Dimitri Szarzewski
82 Imanol Harinordoquy
82 Louis Picamoles
80 Thierry Dusautoir
78 Abdelatif Benazzi
77 Frederic Michalak
76 Aurélien Rougerie
75 Julien Bonnaire

France – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

436 Frederic Michalak
380 Christophe Lamaison
373 Dimitri Yachvili
370 Morgan Parra
367 Thierry Lacroix
354 Didier Camberabero
267 Gerald Merceron
265 Jean-Pierre Romeu
252 Thomas Castaignede
233 Serge Blanco
214 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde
200 Jean-Patrick Lescarboura

France – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

38 Serge Blanco
34 Vincent Clerc
32 Philippe Saint-André
30 Philippe Sella
26 Philippe Bernat-Salles
26 Emile Ntamack
25 Christophe Dominici
23 Christian Darrouy
23 Aurélien Rougerie
20 Yannick Jauzion
20 Patrice Lagisquet

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
124 Rory Best
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
99 Cian Healy
98 Peter Stringer
95 Jamie Heaslip
95 Rob Kearney
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
92 Jonathan Sexton
84 Keith Earls
82 Gordon D’Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
82 Conor Murray
72 Sean Cronin
72 David Humphreys
72 Geordan Murphy
72 David Wallace
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Devin Toner
70 Andrew Trimble
69 Tommy Bowe
69 Mike Gibson
68 Peter O’Mahony

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
832 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe
150 Keith Earls
145 Denis Hickie

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
30 Keith Earls
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Rob Kearney
16 Ronan O’Gara
16 Jacob Stockdale
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 Conor Murray
14 Jonathan Sexton
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
12 Rory Best
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace
11 Alan Duggan
11 Simon Geoghegan
11 CJ Stander

World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:

1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
992 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
945 Owen Farrell (914-England, 31-Lions)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
837 Jonathan Sexton (832-Ireland, 5-Lions)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O’Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
46 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
42 George North (40-Wales, 2-Lions)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)

(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)

The ‘100 Caps’ Club:

148 Alun Wyn Jones (139-Wales, 9-Lions)
148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
142 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
127 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
124 Rory Best (Ireland)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
124 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
122 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
121 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
119 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
117 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
115 Paul O’Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Will Genia (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Victor Gresev (Russia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
102 Rob Simmons (Australia)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
101 Michael Hooper (Australia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
101 Ben Youngs (99-England, 2-Lions)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Andrei Garbuzov (Russia)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)