Ireland vs France: Six Nations Betting Tips
Ireland have beaten France in the Six Nations over the last two years and are still on course for a Grand Slam, but they are the narrowest of favourites as they welcome Les Bleus to Dublin on Saturday.
France must win to have any chance of taking the title while Ireland have repeatedly been seen at their best when it matters most and the Aviva Stadium will be an emotional cauldron as three Test centurions - Cian Healy, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray - are set for a final run-out on home soil.
Ireland vs France Betting Tips
Team news
Ireland captain Caelan Doris, who missed the round-three victory over Wales, has been passed fit to face France and is one of four changes to the starting line-up. Mack Hansen is injured so Jamie Osborne moves from full-back to the wing while Bundee Aki, Hugo Keenan and Finlay Bealham all return.
For France, fly-half Romain Ntamack returns from suspension to line up alongside Antoine Dupont, who was man of the match in Les Bleus’ huge victory over Italy two weeks ago. Winger Damian Penaud, whose record stands at 37 tries in 55 Tests, is also back having been dropped from the squad following the defeat to England in round two. Ireland have six forwards and two backs on the bench while France have again gone with a seven-one split, emphasising their faith in bulk and power.
Tip 1 – France to win @ 57/20
Ireland have got the better of France by a double-figure margin in the last two Six Nations meetings between the pair but while they are narrow favourites again, Les Bleus look the value pick at odds-against.
Defeat to England at Twickenham put France on the back foot and their title hopes are on the line but they showed the perfect response to adversity in their demolition of Italy last week.
The Azzurri were undoubtedly poor and offered little resistance at times in defence, but the France attack was relentless, just as it was in the opening round against Wales, and will take some stopping.
Even in their one-point defeat to England France scored three tries and left another three out there with some uncharacteristic handling errors.
Nonetheless, it could be that their flair in attack is the icing on the cake of a victory that will be earned up front. The front-row battle will be huge and France will also look to attack the Ireland line-out, something England and Wales generally failed to do.
Scrum-half Dupont showed he is mortal after all when he dropped a clear scoring chance against England but his absence was pivotal when Ireland beat France in Marseille last year and he underlined his stellar talent when he was named man of the match in last year’s European Champions Cup victory for Toulouse against a Leinster side featuring nine of Ireland’s starting line-up on Saturday.
Tip 2 – Peato Mauvaka to score a try @ 11/4
Dupont will always be an attacking threat for France while wingers Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, the tournament’s top scorer with five tries, have shown how dangerous they are.
But France’s rolling waves of attack and offloading game means tries can also be shared around and 12 different players have got on the scoresheet for Les Bleus in this year’s tournament, including hooker Peato Mauvaka.
The Toulouse man is a dangerous attacking force from the base of the ruck but also shows his pace in more open play. He has 11 tries from 41 caps as well as six for his club this season and is a nice price to cross the line again.
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