One of the big phrases in French rugby is "No scrum, no win", and it's a motto that will ring true for Ireland this week as Les Bleus come to Dublin.
If Ireland’s scrum has a repeat performance from round three in Wales, it’s hard to see their Grand Slam hopes being alive by Saturday evening.
Ireland conceded four penalties at the setpiece in the opening 40 minutes in Cardiff, although they did get the edge after the break by winning a couple back on their way to a 27-18 win.
Appropriately, scrum coach John Fogarty was up for media this week. Having been whistled off the park against Wales, and with the French bringing one of the game’s heaviest and most destructive packs to town this week, the former prop’s area of expertise was the main topic of conversation.
The issues against Wales came across both tight and loosehead, with Thomas Clarkson and Andrew Porter both penalised twice each, but Fogarty believes the same problems won't arise this week against France.
"There are lots of different reasons why a scrum could collapse. Sometimes it’s us, sometimes it’s not," he said.
The reason Fogarty (below) is confident those issues are behind them is the traits of their opposition.
Against Wales, the penalties Ireland were conceding were generally around the setup of the scrum and the engagement process, which led to Porter and Clarkson losing their stability and collapsing.
And while France have proven themselves to be a dominant scrummaging side - Ireland conceded three penalties in that area when the sides met in 2024 - they look to go after teams in the contest, once the ball has been fed.
"The scrum just seemed to go away from us, so we are trying to hit nice and hard, and the scrum just goes away, collapses on 'set’.
"The penalties came on ‘set’. Wales did a good job to show pictures but it’s not something we are concerned about at all.
"Very different picture this week, France are a very big pack, huge power in their pack, but they want to get to a contest. There is a willingness to get to a contest.
"If one side is pre-engaged and the other side isn't, you get this disjointed entry, which leads to movement and so on.
"So, with speaking to the referees, their focus is making sure that we get to a contest and that this space exists on ‘bind’. And there were times that didn't exist in the Welsh game.
"There were times when one side was in and the other side was out. It leads to movement, leads to messiness, leads to collapses. It's not good to watch. So we got some nice feedback around how that will look for us against France.
"It takes two teams and a referee to do it. So, Jesus, if it was straightforward, I probably wouldn't have a job," Fogarty laughs.
And the Ireland assistant is expecting the Irish scrum to return to its more consistent performances against England and Scotland earlier in the tournament.
"Some of the Welsh players were conceding on 'set' and looking for the ground. It becomes very, very difficult to keep a scrum up. If you want to collapse the scrum, it's quite easy.
"You look at the first two rounds with regards to the scrum, we were getting nice entries. We're in a contest and it's good to watch and we got some good outcomes."
The French will also have the benefit of some inside knowledge in the form of Rabah Slimani.
It came as no surprise that the Leinster tighthead was recalled to the French team following a five-year Test absence, with Fabien Galthie mining the 35-year-old for intel on the Irish front row.
But Fogarty believes these two teams already know each other well enough for that not to be an area of concern.
"It's a small, small world, the rugby world. If you want to find out about bits and pieces, it's quite easy.
"I'm sure he does have an insight but we've played these guys a lot, and the lads played them in Europe quite a bit. We're very familiar with each other.
"We watch each other so closely. We watch their club games, they watch our club games. You pick up on habits.
"I would say that both teams know each other intimately, which makes it a brilliant contest."
The French will present the biggest physical challenge that Ireland have faced since their summer tour of South Africa, with Toulouse lock Emmanuel Meafou (above) expected to be available.
Against Italy, France followed South Africa’s lead by going with a 7:1 split on the bench, and while he says his team are ready for the same again, it’s not a tactic Ireland will be using anytime soon.
"They’ve a lot of faith in their backs to stay fit. We know they’re interchangeable in their back positions, they can play, and they’ve got some very useful forwards, so you can understand it. Were they trying it out for us? Maybe, I don't know.
"It would spook us [to play a 7:1 split]. It’s something we wouldn’t do. We don’t necessarily want to go there with a 7:1 for those reasons.
"You saw against Scotland, you lose two players to a head collision early in the game. They went 6:2 for that game and it hurt them."
With Ireland’s Six Nations hopes on the line, an already vital game will have an extra motivation with it being the final home matches for Peter O’Mahony (below), Cian Healy and Conor Murray, who announced the end of their Test careers last week.
And Fogarty believes managing that emotional energy will be a huge element of their preparation later in the week.
"They are important guys to us, and to their provinces. They’ve been involved for so long, they’ve made Munster and Leinster rugby better. They’ve made Irish rugby better.
"There will be emotion involved around it, because we want to do right by them, but I think what we’ve done well is manage that.
"Sometimes we’ll unpack it a little bit earlier in the week, or we’ll talk about it Wednesday or Thursday when we get to the Shelbourne, and we’ll speak about that emotion.
"We’ll speak about [not] going over the edge.
"The team comes first, and we want to make sure that that mentality or emotion is right at each stage during the week."
