Tough test as this really is Rugby Country

RUGBY:DEPENDING ON how you look at it, those players given a chance to press their claims for a front-line spot or a place in the World Cup squad have either drawn the shortest or longest straw of Ireland's five-game build-up to the World Cup.

At face value, anyway, France in the southwest of France under Saturday night lights looks the toughest of Ireland’s five games this month. Four years ago France’s wounded team were warmly embraced by the people of Toulouse for the 87-10 demolition of Namibia, a few days after being booed off the pitch by the ‘bourgeoisie shits’ (copyright Bernard Laporte) when losing the tournament opener to Argentina in Stade de France. Les Bleus are often a different proposition in their southern heartland.

After the guts of a decade in the doldrums, rugby has been revived in the region following the promotion of Bordeaux Bègles (an amalgamation of two clubs with nine French titles to their name in 2006) via the play-offs at the end of last season.

Stade Chaban Delmas will be a 34,000-plus sell-out for what will be France’s first game at the ground since beating Namibia 47-3 in the 1999 World Cup. They have won six of eight games there, including a brace of wins over Australia, with the only defeats being to the Springboks in 1968 and 1996.

It may even be a farewell of sorts, as a new stadium is being built for the 2016 European football championships, which will be ready in 2014.

The old ground, home to FC Girondins de Bordeaux, was built in 1930 as a cycle-racing track

and in 1935 was rebuilt to accommodate the 1938 football World Cup. As Munster testified from their epic Heineken Cup semi-final win there in 2000 – when stepping over exhausted Toulouse players en route at half-time – the tunnel connecting the changing rooms to the ground is the longest in Europe (close to 120 metres).

The ground is often a neutral venue for French Championship semi-finals (Trevor Brennan won twice there with Toulouse) and Ireland, of course, have not so fond memories of the place – following their uncomfortable wins over Namibia and Georgia four years ago.

Leo Cullen was part of the Leinster team which broke its duck on French soil with the 2002 Heineken Cup pool win away to Clermont Auvergne (then Montferrand), and knows what to expect.

“Yeah, it’s a real challenge. It’s the same travelling in Europe, it’s a tough place to get wins. I enjoy the atmosphere and the challenge. When you’re younger, you can find it a bit daunting but as you get older, you kind of relish those challenges. I’m really excited about this weekend.

“It’s a big opportunity for a lot of players individually but also for the team to build momentum heading into the next few weeks.”

Cullen was also one of the few impressive performers in the 33-10 defeat in Paris two years ago and added: “They’re obviously going to come pretty aggressively at scrum time and we need to stand up in that area. I’m sure they’re going to be pretty ferocious when they come out, they’re playing at home, it’s not a ground they play in very often and Bordeaux is a rugby town as well.

“No doubt they’ll be pretty passionate when they play there and we need to be up for that assault early.

“If we stand off them it will be a pretty long day at the office, so it’s important that we go into the thick of the battle pretty early on, and take it from there.

“But we can’t be sitting back. They’re going to be confrontational in the way they play, no doubt. They’ve had a short build up as well. They announced their squad a few weeks back already so I suppose they’re all pretty gunning to be in a position where they’re starting going into the World Cup. That’s where they’re at it seems, so we need to be on our game straight away.”

Ireland have a reasonably experienced side out, though there could be a debut for Conor Murray as well as a second cap for Felix Jones. “It’s important that you don’t go quiet in the surroundings,” Cullen says will be his advice to the younger players.

“It’s very easy to get de-railed mentally by what’s going on around you. They’ll come with some intensity and it’s easy to go quiet and have doubts about yourself. That’s when you need your character to come to the fore and be a little more vocal than you’re used to being.

“That’s the challenge for players, I guess. The more times you experience it, the easier it becomes. But it’s still going to be tough.”