Head-To-Head: Ireland v France

A statistical preview of Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations second round game between Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 3pm).

2021 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, February 14

IRELAND (4th) v FRANCE (1st), Aviva Stadium, 3pm (live Virgin Media One/ITV/UTV/FR2/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra/IRFU Live Blog)

IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster); Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), James Lowe (Leinster); Billy Burns (Ulster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster) (capt), Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Ed Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Ultan Dillane (Galway Corinthians/Connacht), Will Connors (UCD/Leinster), Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster).

FRANCE: Brice Dulin (La Rochelle); Damian Penaud (Clermont Auvergne), Arthur Vincent (Montpellier), Gael Fickou (Stade Francais), Gabin Villiere (Toulon); Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Begles), Antoine Dupont (Toulouse); Cyril Baille (Toulouse), Julien Marchand (Toulouse), Mohamed Haouas (Montpellier), Bernard le Roux (Racing 92), Paul Willemse (Montpellier), Anthony Jelonch (Castres Olympique), Charles Ollivon (Toulon) (capt), Gregory Alldritt (La Rochelle).

Replacements: Pierre Bourgarit (La Rochelle), Hassane Kolingar (Racing 92), Uini Atonio (La Rochelle), Romain Taofifenua (Toulon), Dylan Cretin (Lyon), Baptiste Serin (Toulon), Anthony Bouthier (Montpellier), Teddy Thomas (Racing 92).

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes, Christophe Ridley (both England)
Television Match Official: Tom Foley (England)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 99
Ireland Won – 35
France Won – 57
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
2020: France won 35-27, Paris

Biggest Wins:

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

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

Individual Records In The Series:

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

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

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, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Philippe Sella

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v France:

127 – Ronan O’Gara
114 – 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

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2020 Six Nations:

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)
Lost 35-27 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 32-9 v Wales home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Lost 18-7 v England away (Autumn Nations Cup)
Won 23-10 v Georgia home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Won 31-16 v Scotland home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Lost 21-16 v Wales away (Six Nations)

France – Form Guide From Start Of The 2020 Six Nations:

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)
Won 35-27 v Ireland home (Six Nations)
Won 28-0 v Fiji home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Won 22-15 v Scotland away (Autumn Nations Cup)
Won 36-5 v Italy home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Lost 22-19 v England (after extra-time) away (Autumn Nations Cup Final)
Won 50-10 v Italy away (Six Nations)

International Championship All-Time Records:

Points –
557 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
546 Jonny Wilkinson (England)
467 Stephen Jones (Wales)
439 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
419 Owen Farrell (England)
414 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
406 Neil Jenkins (Wales)
403 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
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)
21 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)
60 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 Cian Healy (Ireland)
50 Stephen Jones (Wales)
50 Philippe Sella (France)
50 Rory Underwood (England)

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
124 Rory Best
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
105 Cian Healy
98 Peter Stringer
96 Jonathan Sexton
95 Jamie Heaslip
95 Rob Kearney
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

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

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
32 Keith Earls
30 Tommy Bowe
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
18 Jacob Stockdale
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Rob Kearney
16 Ronan O’Gara

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

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

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)
1017 Owen Farrell (986-England, 31-Lions)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
992 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
873 Jonathan Sexton (868-Ireland, 5-Lions)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
824 Leigh Halfpenny (775-Wales, 49-Lions)

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 George North (42-Wales, 2-Lions)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
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:

153 Alun Wyn Jones (144-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)
122 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
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 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)
108 Ben Youngs (106-England, 2-Lions)
107 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
106 Rob Simmons (Australia)
105 Cian Healy (Ireland)
105 Michael Hooper (Australia)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Victor Gresev (Russia)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
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 George North (99-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Jonathan Sexton (96-Ireland, 6-Lions)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
100 Andrei Garbuzov (Russia)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)
100 James Slipper (Australia)