‘Ireland will have to learn to live without Sexton’: What the French media are saying ahead of Six Nations opener

The shorthand version is that the French media believe that France will beat Ireland in the Six Nations opening match at the Velodrome in Marseilles on Friday night (8pm Irish time).

While there was a mourning period in Irish rugby following Johnny Sexton’s retirement, the French are now engaged in a similar lament for Antoine Dupont, who has taken a playing hiatus from 15s to join the Sevens set-up ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Dupont has never previously missed a single game in the tournament since head coach Fabien Galthié took over but under the headline Life without Dupont, a leap into the unknown, Frédéric Bernes wrote in L’Equipe how fullback Tomas Ramos encouraged the media to move on.

“To move on you will need to stop talking to us about the World Cup. We would also need to stop worrying about the absence of ‘Toto’ Dupont,” Ramos explained, pointing out that the focus needed to be on the here and now.

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Midi Olympique offers the following prognosis on the game in Marseilles. “What a clash of titans to open the Six Nations tournament, 2024 edition. It’s hard to hope for better than this duel between France and Ireland, two adversaries whose rivalry has grown considerably in recent years.”

The article goes on to herald a fresh chapter in French rugby history, symbolised by the appointment of a new captain in Grégory Alldritt and raises a glass so to speak to the absent Sexton. “The master, the beacon, Ireland will have to learn to live without him.”

The piece concludes with the line that it is a pivotal contest between “two nations who want to recover after the failure of the World Cup; we see the XV of France emerging victorious”.

Gerry Thornley in Marseille ahead of France vs Ireland

Listen | 22:22

In Sud Ouest under the headline, The attack lie under Bordeaux influence, Denys Kappes-Grange writes a piece about the five Bordeaux backs in the matchday 23 — Clare man Noel McNamara, who spoke to The Counter Ruck podcast earlier this week, is the attack coach for the French Top 14 club — halfbacks, Maxime Lucu, Mathieu Jalibert, wings Yoram Moefana and Damian Penaud are in the team while Louis Bielle-Biarrey is on the bench.

The piece is a tribute to Bordeaux’s style in attack and how the cohesion could benefit the French team in Marseilles.

Midi Olympique had an exclusive interview with flanker and former captain Charles Ollivon, who maintains that the team can be imprisoned by their World Cup failure and that the Ireland match is an opportunity to turn the page.

“To be honest, I still think about it often, it’s something that will follow us all our lives. All members of the group are aware of this. We worked, we gave. I don’t have any regrets, but I don’t want people to take it in the sense that they say, ‘Charles doesn’t care.’ I’ll never forget it. but I won’t live with regrets for years.

“I insist: this group gave everything. On the other hand, the scar of the World Cup will remain forever. I have to live with it and understand it as best I can. The scar will follow us but we must persist. We must not give up and move forward. It’s a blunt sentence but the scar is maturing with the weeks that pass.”

Le Parisien newspaper profiles the match referee, England’s Karl Dickson, while Le Figaro chooses six players to watch in the Six Nations and in terms of Ireland they have opted for outhalf Jack Crowley.