Reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland launch their Guinness Six Nations title defence against pre-tournament favourites France in Marseille.
Antoine Dupont and Johnny Sexton will be notable absentees as the two sides go into a new era on the back of agonising Rugby World Cup exits.
Here, the PA news agency picks out some of the main talking points ahead of Friday’s tantalising championship curtain-raiser.
World Cup hangovers? Grand Slam decider?
France versus Ireland was widely touted as a potential World Cup final. The two nations were Test rugby’s top-ranked teams in the build-up to the tournament before their campaigns ended in the space of 24 hours with enthralling quarter-final defeats. Ireland’s 17-match winning run was halted by a 28-24 loss to New Zealand in Paris, before the hosts were beaten 29-28 in the same city by eventual champions South Africa. Both will be eager to respond to those disappointments in a mouth-watering fixture which has ultimately proved to be a Grand Slam decider in the past two years.
Absent stars
Dupont’s decision to focus on France’s sevens squad for this year’s Paris Olympics has deprived the championship of its leading star. The scrum-half has been crowned player of the tournament in the three of the past four years. He will be replaced in the number nine jersey by Maxime Lucu, with Gregory Alldritt taking on the captaincy. Ireland, meanwhile, must move on following the retirement of talismanic former captain Sexton. The 38-year-old – the Six Nations’ record points scorer with 566 – has left a void on and off the field. Flanker Peter O’Mahony is Ireland’s new skipper, while Jack Crowley, Ciaran Frawley and Harry Byrne will compete for the fly-half role.
Sexton’s long-term successor
To coin an Andy Farrell phrase, Crowley is the “next cab off the rank” in the contest to become Sexton’s long-term successor. The Munster player served as understudy at the World Cup and has been selected for his full Six Nations debut. Crowley’s only previous championship appearance was a three-minute cameo away to Italy last February, while just three of his nine caps have come as a starter. Yet the 24-year-old is the most experienced out-half in his country’s 34-man squad. Frawley, who has been named on the bench, has only 40 minutes of Test action to his name, while his Leinster team-mate Byrne has not featured at international level since playing 56 minutes across substitute outings against the USA and Argentina in 2021.
Unfamiliar surroundings
Stade de France in Paris became a second home for Ireland during last autumn’s World Cup. Farrell’s men had hoped to play five successive matches there but had to settle for three following defeat to the All Blacks. There will be no swift return to Saint-Denis – the scene of memorable wins over South Africa and Scotland – for the Irish as France are this year playing their tournament matches away from the capital due to the upcoming Olympics. Stade Velodrome will be unfamiliar surroundings for many of Farrell’s squad, albeit the Leinster contingent suffered a heart-breaking, last-gasp loss to La Rochelle there in the 2022 Champions Cup final.
Opportunity knocks for McCarthy and Nash
In addition to the selection of Crowley, Farrell has handed Six Nations debuts to Test rookies Joe McCarthy and Calvin Nash. The head coach has shown plenty of faith in 22-year-old Leinster lock McCarthy by picking him ahead of experienced duo James Ryan and Iain Henderson. Meanwhile, Munster wing Nash has an opportunity to capitalise on the misfortune of injured star Mack Hansen. The 26-year-old won his only previous cap as a replacement in a World Cup warm-up win over Italy but has been in fine form for his province. “All you need in life is an opportunity, and it’s a big one for Calvin,” said Farrell.
Kante a shock inclusion in France's Euro 2024 squad
N'Golo Kante has been named as a surprise inclusion in France's squad for Euro 2024.
Kante has not played for Les Bleus since 2022, but despite the long exodus from the squad, the Al Ittihad midfielder has been named in head coach Didier Deschamps' 26-man squad for the upcoming tournament in Germany.
The squad is headlined by Kylian Mbappe, who has plied his trade for Paris Saint-Germain since 2017 but looks set to move to Real Madrid in the upcoming window. Mbappe's PSG team-mate Bradley Barcola makes the squad for the first time.
Also making the journey to Germany will be Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and William Saliba, though Bayern Munich's Lucas Hernandez misses out through injury.
Among the notable exclusions are Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku and Crystal Palace's Michael Olise, who both miss out despite recently returning to fitness in the Premier League.
France will play two warm-up friendlies against Luxembourg and then Canada, before they kick off their Euro 2024 campaign against Austria on June 17. France will also face the Netherlands and Poland in the group stage as they look to reclaim the European Championships crown they lost to Italy in the 2020 edition.
France squad
Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (Milan), Brice Samba (Lens); Jonathan Clauss (Marseille), Theo Hernandez (Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Ferland Mendy (Madrid), Benjamin Pavard (Inter), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich); Eduardo Camavinga (Madrid), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico), N'Golo Kante (Al Ittihad), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain); Bradley Barcola (Paris Saint-Germain), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain), Olivier Giroud (Milan), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Marcus Thuram (Inter).
Passion, mentality and drive make 'champion' Mbappe special, says Henry
Kylian Mbappe's passion, mentality and drive are the fundamental factors that make him so special, according to France legend Thierry Henry.
Les Bleus' skipper is heavily linked with a blockbuster move to Real Madrid after it was officially announced last week that he will depart Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this campaign.
Mbappe leaves Parc des Princes as the club's all-time leading scorer, while he has just been named Ligue 1's Player of the Year for a fifth successive season, and is set to top the goalscoring charts for a sixth year running.
Still only 25 years old, he has already played in two World Cup finals - lifting the trophy in 2018 and scoring a hat-trick in the 2022 showpiece as France lost out to Argentina on penalties - and won six domestic titles.
Mbappe has also scored 46 goals in 77 caps for Les Bleus, trailing only Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (57) on their all-time list, and will look to add the European Championship to his list of honours when he leads his country into the 2024 tournament next month.
Saluting the forward in a new BBC documentary entitled 'Mbappe', Henry said: "The great champions have something in them that I cannot describe.
"When you're a champion, you have to bring something to the table, something extra that is not normal, and that he has. The higher you go, the less normal you are.
"When it comes to this mentality and will, champions do have something that is a bit different to others.
"What I can see in this guy is passion, the will and the love of the game. If you do what needs to be done with those tools, then you're unstoppable.
"What he has achieved already, some people didn't do that in their careers, and they were outstanding players."
There are many similarities between Henry and Mbappe, most notably their styles of play with explosive attacking flair and electric speed. Both grew up in the Paris suburbs, started their senior careers at Monaco and went on to win the World Cup with France.
And the 46-year-old offered a closer insight into what makes the PSG forward on another level to his contemporaries.
"What I see is the same will of wanting to succeed," he analysed. "I don't care about anything else if you don't have that will, that drive - and Kylian has that in abundance. What makes him so special for me is easy; he thinks.
"People always talk about his speed. I know a lot of players that are fast, but can they play football at that level? No. Can they score? Can they run as fast as he does with the ball?
"Can you still see the game when you're running at full speed? You need to have a lot of tools in order to do that, and he's also clever.
"Of course, he has to work on stuff, he's still young and people forget that. He's not yet a finished article. Are you ever a finished article, whether it's in life or football?"
Afridi lauds 'world class' Babar and Rizwan as Pakistan win Ireland series
Shaheen Afridi lauded Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as "world class" after the pair guided Pakistan to a T20I series victory over Ireland on Tuesday.
Babar's side were defeated in the first meeting with Ireland last week but responded with two convincing chases to secure a 2-1 triumph.
Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker's 73 helped his side to set a target of 179 in the winner-takes-all-decider, but Pakistan had little trouble in easing to a six-wicket victory with 18 balls to spare.
Rizwan, who managed an unbeaten 75 in the second meeting, crafted a well-made 56, while Babar carried Pakistan to within touching distance after his 42-ball 75.
Big-hitter Azam Khan blasted 18 off just six deliveries to see the visitors over the line, though Afridi was quick to credit the work of the two experienced Pakistan campaigners.
"For us, before the World Cup, it's important to have these games to ready ourselves and there are a few areas to improve," said Afridi, who impressed with 3-14 in the first innings.
"They're both world-class players [Babar and Rizwan]; they know how to play their role and they have done really well on this pitch."
Babar bludgeoned four of his five sixes off Ben White's bowling in the 14th over, while sharing 139 runs with the in-form Rizwan for the second wicket.
"We had good communication in the middle because we have played a lot of cricket together; we were trying to play on our strengths and the aim was to match with the run rate," Babar added.
"Lots of positives for us to take and we were able to execute our plans.
"We have a big tournament coming up and this is good practice; we are now looking forward to the England series."
Mark Adair was the only Ireland bowler to impress with his economical 3-28, though Tucker was still satisfied with his side's efforts.
"It was brilliant and a great privilege to captain," Tucker said at the post-match presentation. "It would have been nice to start with a win.
"We set up a platform nicely but unfortunately, we couldn't finish well. We gave everyone a go with the ball. Credit to the lads, they bowled well in tough conditions.
"Maybe it was a bit disappointing with the result but we had positives from the series."
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