This year’s edition of the Six Nations Championship starts tomorrow evening with a huge match between defending champions France and Ireland.
Why is it starting on Thursday you ask? It is due to the beginning of the Winter Olympics at Milano-Cortina.
And the early spectacle at the iconic Stade de France could go a long way to deciding who lifts the trophy next month, with fellow favourites England hosting Wales on the weekend.
Rugby Union clashes do not come much bigger than this, and here is our France vs Ireland preview, with the latest Six Nations odds and some betting tips.
And if you wish to include this match as part of a combo bet, with fixtures from other sports if you so wish, our Acca Boost feature can increase your potential winnings by up to 50%!
France vs Ireland Preview
France were exceptional in the 2025 Six Nations, though the squad looks a bit different this time around with as many as 10 uncapped players.
But some of the superstar names remain in the mix, namely inspirational captain Antoine Dupont, a three-time Player of the Tournament (2020, 2022 and 2023).
Les Bleus won four of five matches last year, suffering only one loss to England in a 26-25 epic at Twickenham.
However, defeats became a bit more commonplace after the tournament. In fact, France suffered four in a row, three coming in the space of two weeks against New Zealand.
Dupont’s men were also beaten 32-17 by world champions South Africa on home soil back in November, though did follow up that result with back-to-back wins over Australia and Fiji.
As for Andy Farrell and Caelan Dories’ Ireland, they beat Georgia (5-34) and Portugal (7-106) last July, and then endured an eventful four-match run in November.
A 26-13 loss to New Zealand was followed by consecutive victories against Japan and Australia, before suffering the same fate as France – a home loss to South Africa (13-24).
So neither team made winning a permanent habit in the latter half of 2025, which adds an extra layer of intrigue to this massive match.
Ireland’s emphasis on control and France’s fondness of flair, a contrast of styles which should provide high levels of entertainment in Paris.
The clash between the sides at the 2025 Six Nations saw France record a monumental 42-27 triumph in Dublin, though Ireland did win 38-17 in Paris back in February 2024.
France vs Ireland Odds
*All odds are subject to change
Unsurprisingly, France are the huge pre-match favourites with the backing of a Parisian home crowd, priced as low as 1.16. A victory for Ireland is at long odds of 5.30.
France vs Ireland Betting Tips
Anytime touchdown scorer – Dan Sheehan @ 2.62
France’s free-scoring Louis Bielle-Biarrey is priced as low as 1.66 in this market, so we are looking at the higher value option in Sheehan. Even though Ireland are significant underdogs, the likelihood of them scoring at least one try remains high, and no one is more likely to achieve that feat than Sheehan. In 35 appearances for the Irish, the hooker has tallied 16 tries, a quite remarkable record which he can extend in Paris.
Total points – Over 50.5 @ 1.95
France’s last two home matches against Australia (48-33) and Fiji (34-21) were high-scoring affairs, and over 50.5 points have been tallied in four of Les Bleus’ last six matches. Ireland also recorded a heavy victory over the Aussies (46-19) back in November, as well as a convincing win vs Japan (41-10). Two teams capable of racking up the points and looking to impose themselves on Week 1 of the Six Nations, yeah, this selection looks like great value!
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