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BOD on French clash: "I'd be confident that we can win by 10 points"

Brian O'Driscoll is no stranger to trips to Paris in the Six Nations, having played a part in Ir...



BOD on French clash: "I...
Rugby

BOD on French clash: "I'd be confident that we can win by 10 points"

Brian O'Driscoll is no stranger to trips to Paris in the Six Nations, having played a part in Ireland's only two wins in the French capital in the last 45 years.

His hat-trick in the 27-25 win in 2000 introduced him to the global stage, but he had to wait until his last appearance in an Irish shirt for a second victory there - that of course being the 22-20 win that clinched the 2014 tournament.

Tomorrow's Six Nations opener is unique in many respects - mostly due to the fact that despite Ireland's poor record in Paris, they find themselves warm favourites after a contrasting 2017 for both sides.

Brian O'Driscoll celebrates against France in the 2000 Six Nations ©INPHO/Tom Honan

Ireland are unbeaten since their trip to Wales in the penultimate game of last year's tournament, while France have won just 7 of their last 21 games after a horror few years under Guy Noves.

His replacement Jacques Brunel takes charge of Les Bleus for the first time tomorrow, but O'Driscoll doesn't think the change alone will be enough for France to pull off a surprise victory.

Speaking on today's live BODCAST, the former Ireland captain told us how Joe Schmidt's side can win in far more comfortable circumstances than the previous victories at the Stade de France.

"I'd wonder about the mentality of the French", O'Driscoll said. "It was interesting reading Ronan O'Gara today in the Examiner and him talking about how the French players know that the Irish players are better than them at the moment. So provided we don't have a shocker, which we rarely have these days, we'll be in it because we'll keep the scoreboard ticking over, we'll take our opportunities, and we'll pull them apart once or twice".

"You'd have to think [we'll hit] 20 points. Will we concede 20? Our defence is so miserly at the moment that's one of our greatest attacking weapons, so I don't see us conceding a shed load."

You can watch the full BODCAST in the above link.

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