And, as with all lions, one false move and you’re dead.

Unfortunately for Ireland, they've recently made far too many false moves; giving possession away, slow in support of the ball carrier and securing even slower ruckball, static in attack for long periods of the game, having teams by the jugular and not putting them to the sword. The prospects for survival would not seem to be good.

Mark Lievremont, the new French coach, has had to grapple with injuries and retirements to key players and, with a cadre of experienced players, is building a new team from the ground up. After the country’s disastrous early exit from the World Cup, he must be under enormous pressure from the French rugby public to regain lost pride and glory.

Does this scenario sound familiar?

However, that is where the similarity in fortunes and attitudes between the French and Irish coaches ends. Whereas Lievremont openly talked of squad rotation and now stresses that the changes made to his team were to reward the spirit within the squad, the highest praise our new players are given for their inclusion this week is that they didn’t find the opening game of the Six Nations too high a jump in standard.

Whereas the French coach has had to dial back his initial enthusiasm over the opening day win in Edinburgh, Eddie O’Sullivan has had to spend time deflecting annoying questions about confidence in the team and justifying his rationale for the previous week’s team selection.

The arrival of new faces in Kearney, Heaslip, Jackman and Trimble in midfield may just be the spark that the team needs to rediscover the form that always seems so tantalizingly close.

Undoubtedly there will be more ball carrying weapons for Ireland compared to last week. This is crucial as the Scots showed last weekend that the French defence can have a soft center if you run hard at it. Against Italy, the Irish ran some wonderful lines; they just didn’t, or weren’t allowed to, do it for long enough periods during the game.

I feel that if the Irish can consistently ask questions of the French for longer periods of time, we could be in for a treat. The first twenty minutes will be the key period of the game for Ireland this week. I think the French, with their experienced midfield axis, will probe the new midfield partnership of O’Gara, Trimble and O’Driscoll for fragility.

If they (the French) get behind the first line of defence in this area early on, it could turn into a long day.

Conversely, I feel Ireland should use their greater experience in the pack to gain the upper hand against the relatively inexperienced French pack. Even parity in this area will give the Irish breathing space and the longer the game goes on without France pulling away, the more frustrated the French and their supporters will become.

All in all, we need the big players, Brian O’Driscoll especially, to front up, get the ball in their hands and have a go. These Irish players have met and beaten their French counterparts on many occasions in the European Cup and so shouldn’t have any inferiority complex going into the game. The French know that their team is no where near the finished article.

The Irish team has nothing to lose since the French have won the last six encounters between the two teams, we are away from home and the average supporter has already written off the team’s chances.

It’s a perfect stage for an underdog to bare his teeth, even in the lion’s den.