France v Ireland: ‘This is the World Cup final that everyone wanted, but never got’

What a way to start the Six Nations. This is the World Cup final that everyone wanted, but never got.

It is going to be an epic battle and will really set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

When I first started with Ireland, England was the game you looked out for in the Six Nations. With how good France have been over the past number of years, that has now shifted.

We won the Grand Slam last year, but they won it the year before us. Purely from a neutral’s point of view, this is the game that people want to see.

France away from home, that’s as hard as it gets. It’s slightly different this year, with the game taking place in Marseille as Paris gets ready to host the Olympics, but I don’t think that will change what you see on the pitch.

I remember the last time we played in France in 2022. It was probably the most physical game – fuelled by the French support who were taking it to another level.

Even though we lost that game, it was probably one of the best Test matches we’ve witnessed in a long time. The physicality and intensity of it was something else.

Both teams deserved to win that one. I think Friday will be a replay of that.

The Six Nations is all about momentum. If you can get a really big win against one of the best teams in the world, that can ignite your campaign.

‘Dupont a miss while Crowley can shine’

We were absolutely gutted when we were knocked out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals. We came up just short against the All Blacks and France were in a similar boat against South Africa.

For them, it would have been gutting to be knocked out at that stage of their home tournament. There is motivation for us to put that right, but in front of a home crowd they will want to give their supporters what they deserve.

Both teams have a lot on the line and it will be a tasty match-up.

It’s a fresh start for quite a few teams, but for us and France – we have settled squads. We know we can put performances together and we have the team, and crucially depth, to do the job.

Boys can step up in almost any position, and that is one of our biggest strengths. You just have to look at some of the players who didn’t make the matchday 23.

I know Ireland can go all the way – hopefully with a Grand Slam – but we’ll have to see how the opener goes.

France will have to do it without Antoine Dupont, who is missing the tournament to focus on rugby sevens at the Olympics. It is a major loss for them as a lot of their play goes through him.

He’s one of the best players in the world at the moment and the tournament will miss his presence.

Ireland are also missing a key player in Johnny Sexton, who retired after the World Cup. It will be big boots to fill, but I know Jack Crowley is up to the task.

I was really impressed with Jack, particularly over the World Cup. He really grew as a player and is still a young lad at 24, but the confidence he has and the way he can run a team is pretty exceptional for someone his age.

He has the skillset and more importantly, the mindset to deliver. He has something about him. The guys around him will help him settle, it’s a familiar backline around him and that will help him along.

I know people have been saying that he needs to space to grow and make mistakes but he won’t be thinking like that.

This is his chance and he will want to take it. He’s not a maverick, he’s really disciplined and, although he has that flair, how he uses it is key. I think he will have a really big future with Ireland.

‘I’m now on the school run’

It was tough to learn I would be missing the tournament through injury. It’s been a while since I’ve had to watch the Six Nations from the outside.

It was a freak injury to my bicep in training, in the final session of the week. We knew pretty much straight away that it was going to be bad as I could see that my bicep just wasn’t sitting right.

It was really unfortunate timing with the two European games for Ulster and the Six Nations, but that’s the way it happens sometimes.

I’ve just been trying to keep myself busy with my rehab to try to get back as soon as possible.

I’ve been doing a bit more of the school run and it’s really nice to spend more time with my family, so I’ll take the positives where I can.

The Ireland camp is such a good environment with an incredible group of guys, we got really close over the World Cup but with my experience, you can’t focus on what you are missing out on.

You can only focus on what you can and put your energy into getting back as soon as possible.

Rob Herring was speaking to BBC Sport NI’s Andy Gray.