Big test for Kidney

Ireland will be hoping to continue an impressive A international run when they take on France in Clermont Ferrand today. Coach Declan Kidney has achieved three victories in as many matches, but maintaining the strike-rate will be difficult on French soil.

Ireland's best performance against France at this level was a draw two years ago in Quimper and they will do well to emulate that. The team is much changed because of injury. Dion O'Cuinneagain is the latest casualty: a groin injury, sustained while playing for Ballymena, failed to respond sufficiently to treatment.

Ulster number eight Tony McWhirter comes into the back row alongside Alan Quinlan and David Wallace. Jeremy Davidson will welcome the opportunity to play and must be praying for an injury-free afternoon. Tom Tierney returns at scrum-half and could do with a strong performance, while behind the scrum Geordan Murphy and Dominic Crotty will be hoping jog the minds of the senior selectors.

The under-21 international offers Ciaran Fitzgerald's young team further scope to quantify their improvement. They lost to England in Banbury, but could and should have beaten them, hammered Scotland (44-8), thrashed Italy (95-7) and now find themselves facing a France team that has already beaten England, albeit in France.

Ireland, who have a talented set of backs, beat France at this level last season, a famous victory in Musgrave Park, but subsequently lost to the same opposition in Argentina and forfeited a place in the SANZAR semi-finals because of this. The defeat should provide them with motivation for this match.

IRELAND A: D Crotty (Garryowen); G Murphy (Leicester), J Cunningham (Dungannon), K Keane (Garryowen), T Howe (Dungannon); E Elwood (Galwegians), T Tierney (Garryowen); M Horan (Shannon), S Byrne (Blackrock), P Wallace (Saracens), L Cullen (Blackrock), J Davidson (Castres), A Quinlan (Shannon), T McWhirter (Dungannon), D Wallace (Garryowen).

IRELAND UNDER-21: G D'Arcy (Lansdowne); A Dunne (Old Belvedere), P Wallace (UCD), S Moore (UCD, capt), S Keogh (Old Belvedere); J Staunton (Garryowen), K Campbell (London Irish); N Foxe (St Mary's), A Flavin (London Irish), N Treston (Blackrock), D O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution), P O'Connell (Young Munster), J Skurr (Otley), C McCarey (Ballymena), A Hughes (Dungannon).