France vs Ireland: James Ryan and Jacob Stockdale start Six Nations clash in Paris as Devin Toner drops out
Bundee Aki is also handed just his third start for Ireland as Joe Schmidt names a side filled with 11 British and Irish Lions players for the trip to Paris
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Your support makes all the difference.Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has named 11 British and Irish Lions players in his starting line-up for this weekend’s Six Nations opener against France as they attempt to claim just their second victory in Paris in 17 years.
Leinster lock James Ryan is selected ahead of Irish mainstay and club teammate Devin Toner, with the 21-year-old partnering Iain Henderson in the second-row in what is an impressively strong pack featuring six Lions from the 2013 or 2017 tours.
Ryan is rewarded for his strong run of form in club rugby this season, having stood out in Leinster’s European Champions Cup campaign as they reached the quarter-finals by winning all six pool matches, while another of his club colleagues is given the nod by Schmidt in the form of loosehead prop Cian Healy, who returns at the expense of 2017 Lion Jack McGrath.
Healy will pack down alongside captain Rory Best, who caused a stir this week after he and Henderson attended the rape trial of Ulster and Ireland players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding. But when asked about the national team captain being seen at the trial, Schmidt said: "We are in no position to comment on that. It is a legal matter."
Both Best and Henderson featured on the 2017 Lions tour alongside tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong, who starts in an all-Lions front-row, while Leinster’s Josh van der Flier starts at openside flanker in the injury-enforced absence of Sean O’Brien, with Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander joining him in the back-row.
Schmidt is able to deploy his strongest half-back pairing of Conor Murray and Jonathan Sexton, with both crucial to Ireland’s hopes of winning the Six Nations for the first time since 2015, while Connacht’s Bundee Aki starts at inside centre with Robbie Henshaw shifted to outside centre to cover the absence of Garry Ringrose, who is set to miss the majority of the championship.
Despite the emergence of exciting young Leinster full-back Jordan Lamour, Schmidt keeps faith with the tried-and-trusted Rob Kearney remaining in the No 15 shirt with Keith Earls on one wing and young Ulster star Jacob Stockdale on the other in what is a strong chance for the 21-year-old to show that he can succeed the France-bound Simon Zebo.
France meanwhile will begin a new era under Jacques Brunel with 19-year-old Matthieu Jalibert at fly-half, with the Bordeaux Begles playmaker becoming the country’s youngest starting 10 in Five/Six Nations history. Jalibert has only made 15 Top 14 appearances since making his debut at the start of the year, but Brunel believes that he is ready to step up to Test level rugby, having left more established named out such as Francois Trinh-Duc and Jules Plisson.
"Given that we believed he could play at this level [by calling him up] there is no reason not to blood him," Brunel said of Jalibert.
Teams
France: G Palis; V Vakatawa, H Chavancy, R Lamerat, T Thomas; M Jalibert, M Machenaud; J Poirot, G Guirado, R Slimani; A Iturria, S Vahaamahina; W Laurent, Y Camara, K Gourdon.
Replacements: A Pelissie, D Priso, C Gomes Sa, P Gabrilagues, M Tauleigne, A Dupont, A Belleau, B Fall.
Ireland: R Kearney, K Earls, R Henshaw, B Aki, J Stockdale, J Sexton, C Murray, C Healy, R Best, T Furlong, I Henderson, James Ryan, P O'Mahony, J Van der Flier, CJ Stander.
Replacements: S Cronin, J McGrath, John Ryan, D Toner, D Leavy, L McGrath, J Carbery, F McFadden.
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