Ireland v France, Aviva Stadium, August 20
Ireland target revenge against France
ESPNscrum Staff
August 15, 2011

Ireland will be after revenge against France when the two sides go head-to-head in their latest Rugby World Cup warm-up clash in Dublin on Saturday.

France claimed a 19-12 victory in their meeting in Bordeaux last weekend and they also notched a 25-22 victory on their last visit to the Irish capital in this year's Six Nations.

The visitors hold a significant historical advantage having won 55 of the 89 Tests between the two countries since their inaugural match back in 1909.

France also edge the encounters between the two sides in Ireland - 20 wins to Ireland's 19. And their impressive recent record over Ireland is further emphasised by the fact that they have won on 10 of the previous 13 meetings in the Republic. Ireland's last win against France on home soil came back in February 2009 when they prevailed 29-21 at Croke Park.

France hold the record for the highest score of the series. They won 45-10 in Paris in 1996. The record winning margin, also held by France, was set in their 44-5 Paris victory in 2002.

Ireland's highest score came in their 31-43 defeat at the Stade de France in 2006 - an extraordinary game in which the Irish trailed 43-3 early in the second half before scoring 28 late points without reply. Ireland's best win was in the early years of the fixture - 24-0 in Cork in 1913.

Thierry Lacroix, with 26 points for France at Durban in the 1995 Rugby World Cup quarter-final involving the countries, holds the record for most points scored in a match.

There have been five try hat-tricks in the series, two by Ireland and three by France. Joe Quinn scored three tries for Ireland in 1913 and Brian O'Driscoll did so in 2000. France's first hat-trick was scored by their left-wing Christian Darrouy in Dublin in 1963, David Venditti repeated the feat in Dublin in 1997 and Vincent Clerc did so in Paris in 2008.

Darrouy heads the list of try scorers for the overall series, crossing eight times. O'Driscoll is the leading Irish try scorer with eight to date.

Irishmen hold the other major records for the matches: Ronan O'Gara has scored 123 overall points and Willie-John McBride and Fergus Slattery each played 15 times in this fixture. Philippe Sella appeared 13 times for France.

Note: During the popular series of "Victory" internationals in 1946, France beat an Irish XV 4-3 in Dublin. Only France count that match as part of their Test record.

All-time record: France won 55, Ireland won 29, drawn 5

Biggest winning margin: France: 39, 44-5 at Stade de France, 2002; Aus: 24, 24-0 at Cork, 1913

Highest score: France: 45 (45-10) at Parc des Princes, 1996; Ireland: 31 (31-43) at Stade de France, 2006

Most tries: France: 7 (45-10) at Parc des Princes, 1996, (44-12) at Parc des Princes, 1992; Ireland: 6 (24-0) in Cork, 1913

Longest winning sequence: France: 15 (1986-1999); Ireland: 6 (1909-1914) and (1924-1928)

Most points (individual): France: Didier Camberabero (50); Ireland: Ronan O'Gara (123)

Most tries (individual): France: Christian Darrouy (8); Ireland: Brian O'Driscoll (8)

Most points in a Test: France: 26 Thierry Lacroix at Durban 1995; Ireland: 17 Michael Kearnan (1989) and Ronan O'Gara (2001 and 2007)

  • Click Here for Ireland's Test record courtesy of Statsguru

  • Click Here for France's Test record courtesy of Statsguru

  • Click Here for a record of all Ireland v France matches courtesy of Statsguru

  • Click Here for a record of all Ireland v France matches in Ireland courtesy of Statsguru

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