And the mighty Biarritz number eight, one of France’s star performers during their march to last autumn’s World Cup final, has braced Ireland for the backlash.

“I can and almost certainly must play better,” said the 32-year-old.

“In the first half in particular I had the impression that I spent most of the time defending.

“With regard to defending I was active whereas in offence I was too passive. In the second-half it was a little better.”

France misfired at the line-out against Scotland and Harinordoquy has pointed the finger of blame at himself.

The line-out is an area of Irish strength and Les Bleus, who have dispatched Italy and Scotland so far in this Six Nations, can ill-afford another bad day at the office.

“I take responsibility for that because I was captain of the lineout,” he said.

“I was too focused on the patterns and calls we had made during the week leading up to the match.

“I was unable to adapt when they played a different pattern at some line-outs. We came under a lot of pressure in this area.

“We had already done a lot of work on their line-out habits in the lead-up to the original game before it was postponed.

“But perhaps it is best to leave it more to intuition on the day.”

Victory over Ireland would keep France on course for a Grand Slam decider against Wales on May 17, but Harinordoquy insists improvement is essential against Ireland for that to happen.

“Offensively we were all over the place against Scotland, launching solo attacks without taking into account a more orderly approach to counter-attacking,” he said.

“We were a bit disorganised. The players, including myself, sometimes took too long to follow the man with the ball and provide some impetus behind him. It’s imperative we correct that.”