It doesn't matter how good your record is against them. France in the Six Nations makes you nervous.
Two draws and three wins in their last five games against the French, less than half of tomorrow's Irish squad have been in international rugby long enough to suffer a defeat against them.
However, the fear is always there over which France will show up, and their display in the opening round against Italy has done nothing to make that cliché disappear.
Against Italy, once again they treaded the fine line between ridiculous and sublime.
At times they looked like the France of old; fast, dangerous, instinctive.
At other times they looked like that other France of old; disinterested, sloppy, lacking discipline.
The appointment of Toulouse great Guy Noves as head coach was seen as a progressive move. As a bastion of stability, more than 20 years at the helm with his home club, he looks the polar opposite of the eccentric and moody men who’ve coached the French team in recent years.
However, with Saturday’s two point win a little close for comfort, he took an axe to the starting line-up, making six changes for tomorrow's meeting with Ireland.
Two were enforced; powerful number eight Louis Picamoles’ tournament is over, Yacouba Camara coming into the backrow, while Gael Fickou’s absence for personal reasons saw Maxime Mermoz restored to the starting team.
The rest of the changes were optional, and confused plenty. Rabah Slimani and Eddy Ben Arous have been the first choice propping pair for the last 12 months, but have been cut in favour of the monstrous Uini Atonio and Jefferson Poirot, a Bordeaux loosehead who made his debut in Saturday’s scrappy win.
There is a school of thought that this could be a tactical masterstroke from Noves. The Irish scrum struggled in the first half against Wales, some quarters suggesting that if Atonio and Poirot hold their own against the Irish front row for 50 minutes, they can unleash two powerful scrummagers on the Irish pack.
The most puzzling element of his tinkering was the omission of Hugo Bonneval. The Stade Francais winger scored the try that brought France back into the game against Italy, having fallen eight behind, and the general consensus is that he was one of their better performers on the day. In spite of that, he’ll start on the bench tomorrow, with Teddy Thomas filling his number 14 jersey.
For Ireland, Rob Kearney and Sean O’Brien return after missing the Welsh draw with minor knocks, while Dave Kearney comes onto the wing, with Keith Earls not risked after his head injury.
On the face of it, the enforced switches in the backline do seem to leave Ireland with a little less creativity in attack.
While Simon Zebo’s positioning at fullback was a little raw last week, he offered an attacking instinct whenever he got the ball, and looked sharp stepping into the line.
Defensively, expect Ireland to have their homework done. Against Wales, the unit was quite narrow, but both Trimble and Earls were disciplined and sharp when forced to scramble.
A wider defence will be necessary though, with France likely to use every inch between the touchlines in attack. Against Argentina, that width exposed Ireland badly, with Schmidt’s side not ready for the expansive Pumas’ attack. It’s not a mistake Schmidt is likely to make twice.
The back row is likely to be where Ireland can win this game though. In Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip and CJ Stander, they probably have the most physical trio in the competition.
All three can tackle and carry as well as each other, and in the absence of Louis Picamoles’ leadership, it’s an area of the French game they can target.
In the past, French teams have often had a mental edge on Ireland as soon as their flights touched down at the airport, but the number of Irish players used to losing against France is dropping rapidly.
The core of this bunch will have no fear at Stade de France. Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray, Sean O’Brien and Devin Toner were all in the relative infancy of their test careers when France last beat Ireland in 2011, while Robbie Henshaw, Jack McGrath, Jared Payne, Dave Kearney and of course CJ Stander are among those with no experience of losing against them.
Guy Noves may well turn out to be a success with Les Bleus, but he may have to wait to end his side’s poor run against Ireland.
Wales v Scotland (Saturday)
A debate over the Principality Stadium roof has dominated the build-up to this weekend’s meeting of Wales and Scotland.
In the end, it will be closed, but considering Scotland haven’t won at the ground since 2002, it’s the least of their concerns.
Without a win against Wales in their last eight meetings, they come into the game after an underwhelming performance against England.
Vern Cotter’s side looked to have turned a corner during the World Cup, but they lacked any invention in the Murrayfield defeat.
Dan Biggar’s recovery will be huge for Wales. While Rhys Priestland kept the car running when brought on against Ireland last week, Biggar has been the most important Welsh player in the last 12 months.
It means Wales are unchanged, while the Scots bring Duncan Taylor into the starting line-up after Matt Scott’s injury. Taylor may be having an impressive season for Saracens, but the Welsh midfield should be able to cope and get off the mark in this year’s tournament.
Italy v England
After getting the result but not the performance they wanted against Scotland last week, Eddie Jones’ England team will be hoping to flex their muscles in Rome this weekend.
Ben Youngs is back at scrum half in place of Danny Care, while Mako Vunipola has earned a start at loosehead and Courtney Lawes returns in the second row.
The most notable selection though is on the bench, with Maro Itoje in line to make his England debut at some stage. The Saracens 21-year-old has been compared to Martin Johnson in recent days, while Jack Clifford is also a player to watch, having replaced Chris Robshaw in last Saturday’s opening day win.
Italy impressed at times in their defeat against France, but it was heart, rather than technical skills that kept them in the game.
It doesn’t bear thinking about what they’d be like without Sergio Parisse, but with the captain now 32, it’s a reality we’ll face soon.
Carlo Canna also impressed in the 10 shirt against the French, but even if he puts in a repeat performance on Sunday, it’s hard to see beyond England making it two wins from two.
