Head-To-Head: Ireland v France

2024 GUINNESS MEN’S SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP:

Friday, February 2 –

FRANCE v IRELAND, Stade Vélodrome, 9pm local time/8pm Irish time (live Virgin Media One/ITV 1/France 2/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Sounds/BBC Radio 5 Live/IRFU Live Blog)

FRANCE: Thomas Ramos (Stade Toulousain); Damian Penaud (Union Bordeaux-Bègles), Gaël Fickou (Racing 92), Jonathan Danty (Stade Rochelais), Yoram Moefana (Union Bordeaux-Bègles); Matthieu Jalibert (Union Bordeaux-Bègles), Maxime Lucu (Union Bordeaux-Bègles); Cyril Baille (Stade Toulousain), Peato Mauvaka (Stade Toulousain), Uini Atonio (Stade Rochelais), Paul Gabrillagues (Stade Français Paris), Paul Willemse (Montpellier HR), Francois Cros (Stade Toulousain), Charles Ollivon (RC Toulon), Gregory Alldritt (Stade Rochelais) (capt).

Replacements: Julien Marchand (Stade Toulousain), Reda Wardi (Stade Rochelais), Dorian Aldegheri (Stade Toulousain), Posolo Tuilagi (USA Perpignan), Cameron Woki (Racing 92), Paul Boudehent (Stade Rochelais), Nolann Le Garrec (Racing 92), Louis Bielle-Biarrey (Union Bordeaux-Bègles).

IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster); Calvin Nash (Young Munster/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster) (capt), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster).

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Buccaneers/Connacht), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster), Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster).

Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
Television Match Official: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 102
France Won – 59
Ireland Won – 36
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
2021: France won 15-13, Dublin
2022: France won 30-24, Paris
2023: Ireland won 32-19, Dublin

Biggest Wins:

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

Ireland: Points: 32-19, 2023 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, Cian Healy
14 – Mike Gibson
13 – John Hayes, Jamie Heaslip, Philippe Sella, Conor Murray, Jonathan Sexton

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v France:

127 – Ronan O’Gara
121 – 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 2023 Six Nations:

Won 29-24 v Italy away (Guinness Six Nations)
Lost 32-19 v Ireland away (Guinness Six Nations)
Won 32-21 v Scotland home (Guinness Six Nations)
Won 53-10 v England away (Guinness Six Nations)
Won 41-28 v Wales home (Guinness Six Nations)
Lost 25-21 v Scotland away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 30-27 v Scotland home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 34-27 v Fiji home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 41-17 v Australia home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 27-13 v New Zealand home (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 27-12 v Uruguay home (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 96-0 v Namibia home (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 60-7 v Italy home (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 29-28 v South Africa home (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final)

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2023 Six Nations:

Won 34-10 v Wales away (Guinness Six Nations)
Won 32-19 v France home (Guinness Six Nations)
Won 34-20 v Italy away (Guinness Six Nations)
Won 22-7 v Scotland away (Guinness Six Nations)
Won 29-16 v England home (Guinness Six Nations)
Won 33-17 v Italy home (Bank of Ireland Nations Series)
Won 29-10 v England home (Bank of Ireland Nations Series)
Won 17-13 v Samoa neutral (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 82-8 v Romania neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B)
Won 59-16 v Tonga neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B)
Won 13-8 v South Africa neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B)
Won 36-14 v Scotland neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool B)
Lost 28-24 v New Zealand neutral (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final)

International Championship All-Time Records:

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

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

Caps –
69 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
67 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
64 Rory Best (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
60 Cian Healy (Ireland)
60 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
55 Stuart Hogg (Scotland)
55 Ross Ford (Scotland)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
54 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)

France – Most-Capped Players:

118 Fabien Pelous
111 Philippe Sella
98 Raphael Ibanez
93 Serge Blanco
89 Olivier Magne
86 Damien Traille
85 Gaël Fickou
85 Nicolas Mas
84 Sylvain Marconnet
83 Dimitri Szarzewski

France – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

436 Frédéric Michalak
380 Christophe Lamaison
373 Dimitri Yachvili
370 Morgan Parra
367 Thierry Lacroix
354 Didier Camberabero
274 Thomas Ramos
267 Gérald Merceron
265 Jean-Pierre Romeu
252 Thomas Castaignède

France – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

38 Serge Blanco
35 Damian Penaud
34 Vincent Clerc
32 Philippe Saint-André
30 Philippe Sella
26 Philippe Bernat-Salles
26 Émile Ntamack
25 Christophe Dominici
23 Christian Darrouy
23 Aurélien Rougerie

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
125 Cian Healy
124 Rory Best
118 Jonathan Sexton
112 Conor Murray
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
101 Keith Earls
101 Peter O’Mahony

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1108 Jonathan Sexton
1083 Ronan O’Gara
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
180 Keith Earls
164 Joey Carbery

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
36 Keith Earls
30 Tommy Bowe
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
19 Jacob Stockdale
18 Geordan Murphy
18 Jonathan Sexton
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble

World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:

1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1271 Owen Farrell (1237-England, 34-Lions)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1113 Jonathan Sexton (1108-Ireland, 5-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1030 Florian Vlaicu (Romania)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

69 Daisuke Ohata (Japan)
67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
55 Hirotoki Onozawa (Japan)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
49 George North (47-Wales, 2-Lions)
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)
43 Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)

(Note: Japan’s Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries, and Hirotoki Onozawa scored 55 tries, but not all against major international opposition)

The ‘100 Caps’ Club:

170 Alun Wyn Jones (158-Wales, 12-Lions)
153 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
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)
134 James Slipper (Australia)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
129 Florian Vlaicu (Romania)
129 Ben Youngs (127-England, 2-Lions)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
127 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
125 Cian Healy (Ireland)
125 Michael Hooper (Australia)
125 Aaron Smith (New Zealand)
124 Rory Best (Ireland)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
124 Jonathan Sexton (118-Ireland, 6-Lions)
123 Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
122 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
121 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
121 George North (118-Wales, 3-Lions)
120 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
120 Conor Murray (112-Ireland, 8-Lions)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
119 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
118 Owen Farrell (112-England, 6-Lions)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
117 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Dan Biggar (112-Wales, 3-Lions)
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 Dan Cole (107-England, 3-Lions)
110 Will Genia (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
110 Courtney Lawes (105-England, 5-Lions)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Taulupe Faletau (104-Wales, 5-Lions)
109 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
109 Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
109 Alexander Todua (Georgia)
108 Agustin Creevy (Argentina)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
107 Victor Gresev (Russia)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
106 Rob Simmons (Australia)
105 Leigh Halfpenny (101-Wales, 4-Lions)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
105 Florin Surugiu (Romania)
104 Mihai Macovei (Romania)
104 Diego Magno (Uruguay)
104 Nicolas Sanchez (Argentina)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Shalva Mamukashvili (Georgia)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Jonathan Davies (96-Wales, 6-Lions)
102 Stuart Hogg (100-Scotland, 2-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
102 Peter O’Mahony (101-Ireland, 1-Lions)
102 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Keith Earls (Ireland)
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 Lasha Malaghuradze (Georgia)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)