The virtual conference begins with a discount video for the competition sponsor.
In it, Cork’s finest star, Ronan O’Gara, beseeches the put together group to take this seriously. There is a huge chance, he states.
“Pull the finger out”. Somebody laughes.
“Do you believe I’m amusing?” he states en Francais, transporting his inner Tommy DeVito.
Appears like perhaps the Oscar election went to the incorrect Rebel.
“I’m informing you, the director stated it too on the day,” smiles the previous Munster and Ireland out-half, now in charge of back-to-back Champions Cup winners La Rochelle.
“Cillian Murphy, we may see him once again, you never ever understand.”
On to the major company. 2 titans of rugby, both broken to various degrees by World Cup heartbreak, fulfill on Friday night in Marseille in the opening match of the Guinness Six Nations.
Will that Webb Ellis hangover overflow into what we’ll see?
“No, the sensation I overcome here from the French group is that they may be maximized a bit since there has actually been a substantial concentrate on ‘de-possession’, kicking video game,” states O’Gara, who won 16 of his 128 Ireland caps versus Les Bleus.
France kicked 57% of their ownership in the 29-28 quarter-final loss to South Africa.
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“They lost the aerial fight terribly,” he includes.
“They had a strategy however, as the expression goes, everybody’s got a strategy up until they get typed the face.
“France got 3 punches in the face and they got definitely eliminated by the South African kick danger.
“They were choosing balls with their eyes closed, they were batting it back and provided shots for South Africa.
“Maybe with a little hindsight they feel that they had more to provide with the ball and I would most likely concur with that.
“They are really unsafe. I believe they were amazed by information and kicking metres.
“When you take a look at [Jonathan] Danty, [Gael] Fickou, [Damian] Penaud, [Louis] Bielle-Biarrey, [Yoram] Moefana, [Thomas] Ramos, [Matthieu] Jalibert, they all can play and they are all truly quick.
“They’ll have risks all over the park. For me it’s [a] remarkable [match-up] in between a great deal of x-factor, and a cohesive, structured, incredibly in shape Ireland group.”
France employer Fabien Galthie lacks the services of Antoine Dupont, “the very best gamer on the planet”, states O’Gara.
With Toulouse partner Romain Ntamack likewise out, the previous Racing 92 and Crusaders assistant reckons Ireland can make hay targeting the half-back department, regardless of most likely pairing Maxime Lucu’s present type and Jalibert’s class.
“An excellent training ticket looks for the chances in the opposition,” states the 46-year-old.
“They will both have actually evaluated each other completely.
“Analysing and doing it with an inferior group to you in training, due to the fact that theses are the guys who are beginning that are the very best in both nations, and they representative it versus guys who completing for their locations however they are much better than them, often the strategy works well in training.
“But in the decisive moment, Ireland will pursue Lucu, which is regular when the very best gamer on the planet isn’t dipping into the weekend.”
O’Gara reckons the brand-new environments will influence the gamers with the Orange Velodrome hosting the video game with Stade de France out of commission ahead of the Olympic Games.
“It’s fantastic. As a sportsperson, this is what you wish to do, you wish to play in the very best arena on the planet,” he states.
“For me, it’s up there since of the environment. The mindset in the south of France is extremely various to the north of France, so there’ll be enthusiastic rugby individuals down there.
“There will be bands, there’ll be a dazzling environment around the ground, it’ll be a reward for Irish fans.
“But, likewise, as a gamer, it’s extremely various going to the Aviva with a home crowd … there’s a huge fulfillment as a sportsperson if you can do the task far from home.
“If Ireland were to get an outcome this weekend, it would be a larger declaration than they have actually carried out in the past.”
See Wales v Scotland in the Under-20 Six Nations on Friday from 7.05 pm on RTÉ Player
Follow a live blog site on France v Ireland in the Guinness Six Nations on Friday from 7.30 pm on rte.ie/ sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
Enjoy Wales v Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday from 4pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player