Head-To-Head: Ireland v France

2018 NATWEST 6 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, February 3

FRANCE v IRELAND, Stade de France, 5.45pm local time/4.45pm Irish time (live TV3/BBC 1/DMAX/FR2/NBC/RTÉ Radio 1/IRFU Live Blog)

FRANCE: Geoffrey Palis (Castres); Teddy Thomas (Racing 92), Rémi Lamerat (Clermont Auvergne), Henry Chavancy (Racing 92), Virimi Vakatawa (Racing 92); Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Bègles), Maxime Machenaud (Racing 92); Jefferson Poirot (Bordeaux-Bègles), Guilhem Guirado (Toulon) (capt), Rabah Slimani (Clermont Auvergne), Sébastien Vahaamahina (Clermont Auvergne), Arthur Iturria (Clermont Auvergne), Wenceslas Lauret (Racing 92), Yacouba Camara (Montpellier), Kévin Gourdon (La Rochelle)

Replacements: Adrien Pelissié (Bordeaux-Bègles), Dany Priso (La Rochelle), Cedate Gomes Sa (Racing 92), Paul Gabrillagues (La Rochelle), Marco Tauleigne (Bordeaux-Bègles), Antoine Dupont (Toulouse), Anthony Belleau (Toulon), Benjamin Fall (Montpellier).

IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Ballynahinch/Ulster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).

Replacements: Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster), Luke McGrath (UCD/Leinster), Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Leinster), Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster).

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Television Match Official: Rowan Kitt (England)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 96
France Won – 56
Ireland Won – 33
Drawn – 7

France v Ireland: IRFU Stat Zone

France v Ireland – 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

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 – France v Ireland:

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

Top Points Scorers – France v Ireland:

127 – Ronan O’Gara
78 – 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 – France v Ireland:

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

France – Form Guide From Start Of The 2017 Six Nations:

Lost 19-16 v England away (Six Nations)
Won 22-16 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Lost 19-9 v Ireland away (Six Nations)
Won 40-18 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 20-18 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 37-14 v South Africa away (Summer Series)
Lost 37-15 v South Africa away (Summer Series)
Lost 35-12 v South Africa away (Summer Series)
Lost 38-18 v New Zealand home (Autumn Test)
Lost 18-17 v South Africa home (Autumn Test)
Drew 23-23 v Japan home (Autumn Test)

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2017 Six Nations:

Lost 27-22 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 63-10 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 19-9 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 22-9 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 13-9 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 55-19 v USA away (Summer Tour)
Won 50-22 v Japan away (Summer Series)
Won 35-13 v Japan away (Summer Series)
Won 38-3 v South Africa home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 23-20 v Fiji home (GUINNESS Series)
Won 28-19 v Argentina home (GUINNESS Series)

International Championship All-Time Records:

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

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

Caps –
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
60 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
55 Rory Best (Ireland)
55 Ross Ford (Scotland)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
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
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
367 Thierry Lacroix
355 Morgan Parra
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
108 Paul O’Connell
106 Rory Best
105 John Hayes
98 Peter Stringer
95 Jamie Heaslip
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
82 Gordon D’Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
78 Rob Kearney
73 Cian Healy
72 David Humphreys
72 Geordan Murphy
72 David Wallace
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Andrew Trimble
69 Tommy Bowe
69 Mike Gibson
68 Jonathan Sexton
67 Marcus Horan

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
639 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
145 Denis Hickie
130 Keith Earls

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
29 Denis Hickie
26 Keith Earls
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Ronan O’Gara
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
13 Rob Kearney
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace

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)
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)
854 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
835 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)

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)
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 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
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)
129 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
122 Alun Wyn Jones (113-Wales, 9-Lions)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
116 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
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 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
109 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
108 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
106 Rory Best (Ireland)
106 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
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)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)