Ireland face France for the first time since the dramatic finale to last season's Six Nations, when they snatched the Championship with a 22-20 victory at the Stade de France. Johnny Sexton was the hero that day and Joe Schmidt's men are bolstered by the fly-half's return for Saturday's clash at Aviva Stadium...

Team news

Ireland have the luxury of adding a host of Lions to the side that pulled away from Italy in Rome last weekend. Johnny Sexton comes in at No.10 after a mandatory 12 weeks out of the game due to suffering four concussions in 2014. The Racing Metro star was key to Ireland's victory in Paris last year, scoring two tries and a host of points with his trusty boot. In the back row, Jamie Heaslip returns after shoulder and knee problems, while he will be joined by Sean O'Brien, who injured in the warm-up ahead of last weekend's Italy Test. In the front row, Rory Best retains his place at hooker after coming through return-to-play protocols following a head injury in Rome.

France have made just one change to the XV that saw off a lively Scotland side at the Stade de France last Saturday. Young prop Eddy Ben Arous will be thrown in at the deep end against Ireland's experienced front row, while Vincent Debaty wins a seat on the bench as he looks to renew hostilities with Ireland's Marty Moore. The huge Clermont man gained the upper hand against his Irish opponent when the pair were introduced as replacements in last year's fixture. Moore has vowed to put up a bigger fight this time round, so expect fireworks after the inevitable front row changes on the 60-minute mark.

Key head to head

When talking to ESPNScrum in Paris last weekend, France scrum-half Rory Kockott admitted that he and half-back partner Camille Lopez would be going up against two of world rugby's best in Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton on Saturday, and it's hard to disagree with him. The Irish pairing is a proven winning formula, while the French combination is the 14th used by Philippe Saint-André during his two-year reign as head coach. Sexton's influence in particular was clear to see in Italy last weekend. Without his hand on the tiller, Ireland looked sluggish in Rome, although Murray was lively enough to record the highest number of passes of any player on the opening weekend. Kockott and Lopez were certainly bright sparks in an entertaining France backline against Scotland, but they will start Saturday's clash as the underdog duo.

Key stats

*Ireland have won their last six matches in Dublin since narrowly losing to New Zealand in the final minute of their visit in November 2013.

*France have won just once on the road in their last 11 trips away from home. The solo victory was a 19-17 win against Scotland at Murrayfield last March.

*France have not been defeated at Aviva Stadium or the old Lansdowne Road ground in the past 12 years, although they have lost in Dublin since then - a February 2009 meeting at the home of Gaelic Games, Croke Park.

Odds

Ireland are the highest-ranked side in the tournament - currently sitting pretty at No.3 in the world - so expect them to get the better of France once again. But it could be close, so Unibet's odds of 15/4 for an Ireland victory by 1-5 points look a decent bet.

Weather

It's set to be a cloudy evening in Dublin on Saturday, with temperatures dipping to six degrees. A gentle 8mph breeze is unlikely to trouble the kickers.

Prediction

Although they laboured in the opening stages of their clash with Italy last weekend, Ireland accelerated away to secure victory in Rome. France played an entertaining brand of rugby in Paris, but were reliant on Scottish mistakes to clinch the win. With that in mind, Ireland should be too clinical for the French, who rarely travel well. Ireland to win by five.

© Scrum.com

Enlarge

Win a TV, PS4s and iPads. Play for FREE >>