Head-To-Head: Ireland v France

2015 RBS 6 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, February 14

IRELAND (1st) v FRANCE (2nd), Aviva Stadium, 5pm (live RTÉ Two/BBC One/RTÉ Radio 1/IRFU Live Blog)

IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Jared Payne (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht), Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster); Jonathan Sexton (Racing Metro 92), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster), Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster) (capt), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Sean O’Brien (UCD/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster).
 
Replacements: Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Martin Moore (Lansdowne/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster), Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster), Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster), Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster).

FRANCE: Scott Spedding (Bayonne); Yoann Huget (Toulouse), Mathieu Bastareaud (Toulon), Wesley Fofana (Clermont Auvergne), Teddy Thomas (Racing Metro 92); Camille Lopez (Clermont Auvergne), Rory Kockott (Castres Olympique); Eddy Ben Arous (Racing Metro 92), Guilhem Guirado (Toulon), Rabah Slimani (Stade Francais), Pascal Papé (Stade Francais), Yoann Maestri (Toulouse), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse) (capt), Bernard le Roux (Racing Metro 92), Damien Chouly (Clermont Auvergne).

Replacements: Benjamin Kayser (Clermont Auvergne), Uini Atonio (La Rochelle), Vincent Debaty (Clermont Auvergne), Romain Taofifenua (Toulon), Loann Goujon (La Rochelle), Morgan Parra (Clermont Auvergne), Rémi Tales (Castres Olympique), Rémi Lamerat (Castres Olympique).

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Television Match Official: Graham Hughes (England)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 92
Ireland Won – 30
France Won – 55
Drawn – 7

Ireland v France: IRFU Stat Zone

Ireland v France In The Six Nations:

2000: Ireland won 27-25, Paris
2001: Ireland won 22-15, Dublin
2002: France won 44-5, Paris
2003: Ireland won 15-12, Dublin
2004: France won 35-17, Paris
2005: France won 26-19, Dublin
2006: France won 43-31, Paris
2007: France won 20-17, Dublin
2008: France won 26-21, Paris
2009: Ireland won 30-21, Dublin
2010: France won 33-10, Paris
2011: France won 25-22, Dublin
2012: 17-17 draw, Paris
2013: 13-13 draw, Dublin
2014: Ireland won 22-20, 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 – Ronan O’Gara
15 – Willie John McBride, Brian O’Driscoll, Fergus Slattery
14 – Mike Gibson, Paul O’Connell
13 – John Hayes, Philippe Sella
12 – Ken Kennedy, Tom Kiernan, Phil Orr, Fabien Pelous

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v France:

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

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

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2014 Six Nations:

Won 28-6 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 26-3 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 13-10 v England away (Six Nations)
Won 46-7 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Won 22-20 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 29-17 v Argentina away (Summer Tour)
Won 23-17 v Argentina away (Summer Tour)
Won 29-15 v South Africa home (Autumn Series)
Won 49-7 v Georgia home (Autumn Series)
Won 26-23 v Australia home (Autumn Series)
Won 26-3 v Italy away (Six Nations)

France – Form Guide From Start Of The 2014 Six Nations:

Won 26-24 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 30-10 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Lost 27-6 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 19-17 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Lost 22-20 v Ireland home (Six Nations)
Lost 50-23 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Lost 6-0 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Lost 39-13 v Australia away (Summer Series)
Won 40-15 v Fiji home (Autumn Test)
Won 29-26 v Australia home (Autumn Test)
Lost 18-13 v Argentina home (Autumn Test)
Won 15-8 v Scotland home (Six Nations)

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)
288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
270 David Humphreys (Ireland)

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

Caps –
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
54 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
53 Willie John McBride (Ireland)
53 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
51 Martyn Williams (Wales)
50 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
50 Philippe Sella (France)
50 Rory Underwood (England)
50 Stephen Jones (Wales)

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
105 John Hayes
98 Peter Stringer
97 Paul O’Connell
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
82 Girvan Dempsey
81 Gordon D’Arcy
79 Rory Best
72 David Humphreys
72 David Wallace
72 Geordan Murphy
70 Kevin Maggs
69 Mike Gibson
69 Jamie Heaslip

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
560 David Humphreys
423 Jonathan Sexton
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
158 Tom Kiernan

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
29 Denis Hickie
28 Tommy Bowe
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
16 Andrew Trimble
16 Ronan O’Gara
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood

France – Most-Capped Players:

118 Fabien Pelous
111 Philippe Sella
98 Raphael Ibanez
93 Serge Blanco
89 Olivier Magne
86 Damien Traille
84 Sylvain Marconnet
82 Imanol Harinordoquy
79 Dimitri Szarzewski
78 Abdelatif Benazzi
76 Nicolas Mas
76 Aurélien Rougerie
75 Julien Bonnaire
74 Lionel Nallet

France – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

380 Christophe Lamaison
377 Frederic Michalak
373 Dimitri Yachvili
367 Thierry Lacroix
354 Didier Camberabero
325 Morgan Parra
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:

1457 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)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
57 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
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)
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:

141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
137 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
123 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
121 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
116 Gethin Jenkins (111-Wales, 5-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
110 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
109 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
108 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
106 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
104 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
104 Paul O’Connell (97-Ireland, 7-Lions)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
100 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)