If it's not broken, don't fix it was the approach of Irish head coach Adam Griggs when naming his squad for Saturday's match-up with France.
Fresh after their monstrous 45-0 win over Wales, Griggs has made no changes to last weekend's starting XV. However, a very different challenge likely awaits them when Annick Hayraud's side visit Donnybrook.
Similar to Ireland, France made light work of Wales in their Pool B opener on April 3rd, subjecting their visitors to a 53-0 thrashing, making this weekend's fixture the decider for who tops the pool and goes on to face England on April 24th.
#WomensSixNations
🤩 An unchanged starting XV and an uncapped player on the bench - here is 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 Ireland Match Day 23 for a Saturday showdown against @FranceRugby! ☘️#ShoulderToShoulder #IrishRugby #IREvFRA pic.twitter.com/FoZJjdBmG8— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) April 15, 2021
Griggs has included uncapped Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe among his subs, making the jump from Sevens rugby, while Emma Hooban has also been drafted in as a replacement.
Last weekend's try-scorers Beibhinn Parsons, Sene Naoupu, Eimear Considine and fly-half Hannah Tyrrell will be key in breaching the French defence, while Ireland's power in the forwards will need to be in top form coming up against the likes of Rose Bernadou and Gaelle Hermet.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's clash, Griggs said their performance against Wales has given the squad great confidence before coming up against France.
"We’ve talked about some cohesion with the starting side. We look at last week’s performance, we got off to a really good start in that first half.
"It’s really how we want to play the game. Giving them that opportunity against the French this weekend was really key, that they’re rewarded for the good start they had," Griggs said.
Ireland v France will be televised live on RTÉ Two from 1.45pm, with kick-off at 2.15pm.
