The Leinster man

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Kearney said: "Their backs are against the wall, they owe us one from last year, so we believe we are going to see a different France from last week."

Last year's clash saw Ireland play what is seen as a typical French game of rugby, including Kearney running from deep, in their win over France and some supporters may expect the same on Saturday.

However, the Leinster flyer was quick to quash that idea.

He said: "Well I think we play different rugby, that's not the type of game that we want to play.

"If we had a coach that wanted us to throw off-loads and throw 50-50 balls, I'm sure we could match it, but that's not the type of rugby we want to play.

"With all due respect, we're not trying to match them."

He warned against taking the French on at their own game.

He said: "Chances are, they are going to come out on top, so I suppose that's why we'll try to avoid that."

Kearney also had a word about Jonathan Sexton's return and how well Munster's Ian Keatley fared against the Italians last Saturday.

"Obviously, he's (Sexton) a fantastic player and he gets the backline going really well. I thought Keats (Ian Keatley) did a really good job last week for us.

"First game coming in, he got us a very well-earned win away in Italy, okay we might not have played superb rugby but the scoreline was really good, so Johnny coming back in will only add a huge amount of value to the team."