DIARY:There'll be a reaction to the performance in Rome and I'd expect next Sunday's performance by Ireland to be more accurate and thoughtful

THE HUMILIATION of the 59-16 thrashing by Australia in November could well produce a positive legacy for France, not just in terms of the Six Nations Championship but also the World Cup later in the year. French coach Marc Lievremont decided in the aftermath of the defeat to adopt a more hands-on philosophy and the benefits of this shift were evident at the weekend.

He basically informed all his coaches from his assistants Emile N’tamack and Didier Retiere right through to the various specialists that everything would come through him in communicating with the players. There would be no ambiguity in the chain of command or any danger of garbled messages. There is nothing worse as a player than having one coach suggest one thing and another something slightly different. It dilutes at best and can be counter-productive at worst.

It also cuts down on the volume of messages that players are asked to absorb and that’s definitely a positive. Lievremont redefined the coaching parameters, becoming stricter with the players in terms of what he expected of them and providing a clearer picture of what he wanted to boot. French captain Thierry Dusautoir has spoken about how it helped to clarify matters and how it has been embraced enthusiastically by the players.

Lievremont didn’t seek out the position as French coach and therefore I think it encouraged him in his policy of experimentation over the last couple of season. He is a successful businessman and also a devoted family man but now I think he realises he has to take a firmer grip on proceedings. Every organisation needs a strong leader and his stance is now more proactive.

There are still glitches though as Scotland exposed on Saturday. The French conceded three tries at home which is something that Ireland will focus on in their video analysis. The Scots earned those tries, a point made by their coach Andy Robinson while bemoaning the fact that, in his eyes, they gifted France their four.

It’s a slightly harsh assessment but there’s no doubt the Scots punched holes and then exploited them. In fact they butchered a couple of other opportunities. The French were strikingly lazy at times in a defensive capacity, best exemplified by Julien Pierre for Kelly Brown’s try.

He stayed rooted to the goal-line while everyone else came up, thereby creating a dogleg which Brown exploited. There were other examples of the French defence switching off and I know that Dave Ellis – he’s our defence coach at London Irish – will be livid. France missed 25 tackles against the Scots and had 17 errors.

In last year’s fixture when Ireland lost 33-10 to the French, they made 19 errors to France’s 10 and conceded 11 penalties to their opponent’s seven. Every team aspires to keep both sets of figures below 10; in Rome on Saturday Ireland’s were once again appreciably north of where they should be.

A potentially more debilitating legacy from Stadio Flaminio is the perception about Ireland’s scrum. The referee deemed the Italians to be on top in the area and it is an attitude that could endure from match to match.

The French scrum was set to destructive mode against the Scots and it should be noted this is a Scottish frontrow that includes Euan Murray and Ross Ford, both noted for their work in the scrum. French hooker William Servat and loosehead prop Thomas Domingo like to use a pincer movement to zone in on the opposing tighthead prop. It’s something they do extremely well and Mike Ross will need help.

On the other side Nicolas Mas is just left to wreak havoc on his own. Ireland have got to manage the scrums better than they did on Saturday. They’ll want to narrow the gap so the French can’t get a big hit on the engage; it’s a question of ball in, ball out and no messing around.

Ireland can definitely get after the French lineout. Imanol Harinordoquy, their general out of touch, likes to call when he arrives to the touchline rather than on the way there. The Aviva Stadium crowd can do their little bit for the Irish team by ramping up the noise levels to make communication more difficult.

When it’s Ireland’s throw-in they have to speed up the process. France have four jumpers in their pack and a very good defensive lineout; the less time you give them to organise the easier it’ll be to secure your own ball. Ireland threw a lot of ball to the front of the lineout in Rome. It’s becoming increasingly prevalent for teams to allow you to win ball in this area.

It’s easier to defend/pull down a maul at the front of a lineout. Ireland threw to Donncha O’Callaghan and then tried to get David Wallace out to carry ball from the scrumhalf’s pass. It needs a little more polish. Ireland need to make sure they don’t gift scores, France must earn them and if they get turnover ball, the Irish player must kill it dead.

The French are lethal on turnovers and so anything that is put down by an Irish hand should be accompanied immediately by killing the ball. You want to force the referee to whistle back play. Ireland were more successful carrying ball in Rome when sending two or three players to the line. That pod meant that the player in possession had a number of options and also kept the tackler(s) guessing.

The usual characteristics that underpin any performance are important next Sunday; precision and sound execution being two of the more important ones against the French. It’s not about throwing the wonder pass, rather going through the phases and working the opportunity, something they didn’t do in Rome. Ireland need to maintain that continuity and the penalties will follow.

From a defence perspective, the Irish will look to double team (one tackles high the other low) the big French ball carriers and also force their opponents to commit numbers to rucks. Ireland are better at contesting ball at the breakdown and this will deny the French the speed of ball they crave. There’ll be a reaction to the performance in Rome and I’d expect next Sunday’s performance to be more accurate and thoughtful; without the same number of mistakes.