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The board game Risk describes itself as the pursuit of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. Rugby’s version is not a million miles removed: bigger pitch and more bodies involved but plenty of overlap on the content. For Saturday’s pivotal next step in Ireland’s grand slam bid the French have put it up to them before a ball is kicked, with a magnificent seven lumps on the bench, supported by just one back. It worked against Italy which is not to say it won’t end in tears this time out. That’s why it’s called Risk.
Ireland’s riposte is less brazen, but only just. The last time they went 6-2 on the bench was against England a year ago – which didn’t end too well – and they have an extra bit of jeopardy with the inclusion of their most capped player, Cian Healy, in the replacements. The prop is a veteran of countless contacts and is looking forward to the afterlife already, which he reckons will demand more physical activity simply to avoid falling apart. The plan for Saturday is to limit his engagement to the fag end of the final quarter. The risk is that circumstance might hurry that one up to a critical level if Andrew Porter has to bail out ahead of schedule.
Otherwise Ireland are treading the conventional path with the usual suspects in the starting lineup. Jamie Osborne may not fit that category yet but if this was Ghostbusters then he’d be the first one you’d call. His talent mitigates the absence of the injured Mack Hansen, and his versatility could get him a seat on the plane to Australia with the Lions this summer.
“We have a bit of flexibility in Jamie’s position, [with] him covering the majority of positions in the backline,” Simon Easterby, the interim head coach, said. “We felt Caelan [Doris] has done incredibly well to get back to full fitness and done a brilliant job with the medical staff, being able to get himself right from an injury which other players might not have been able to do in a short space of time. We needed to make sure we had good coverage in the back row.
“The dynamics of that pack and how France might play the game meant we felt that it was a nice chunky back five of our scrum to come on and make an impact, as well as having someone like Jamie from the start, and he can cover a number of positions.”
On the downside Tadhg Furlong is not back to full fitness yet and neither is Ronan Kelleher, but Finlay Bealham’s form has been good and Rob Herring is exactly the sort of veteran you need for this environment.
“I think Rob gives that little bit more experience and nous in a position which can be pretty tricky,” says Easterby. “What he will allow us to do as well is he’ll have the opportunity to come off the bench with a younger player in Tom Clarkson. It gives him and Tom a nice bit of a connection, along with Cian and his experience on the other side of that.”
On the diplomatic front for France, Fabien Galthié lobbed one of those compliments over the top which could be designed to explode on impact.
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“Ireland today are a team of the very highest quality: one of the two best countries in the world – perhaps even the best – and they’re playing at home. To put the task for us in context: since 2020 they have played 31 home matches and lost two – against France in 2021 and New Zealand last November. So it’s true we’re facing a huge challenge but that’s what we’re looking for.”
Really? Offered a choice between running over the top of boys in green or getting stuck in full-on warfare surely he’d opt for the former. The return of Damian Penaud on the wing and Emmanuel Meafou to the bench feeds into this. Sticking with Mickaël Guillard reflects how good the Lyon second row was against Italy, and the impact Ireland will have to deal with when the replacements roll into action. By then Galthié will hope, with Romain Ntamack back in harness, the reward is winning out over the risk.
