Ireland v France; Where to watch, team news and more ahead of Six Nations opener

This year's Six Nations tournament starts out with a bang as Ireland take on France in their opening round of the tournament tonight, Friday, at 8:00pm Irish Time in Marseille. 

The game is not taking place in the Stade de France due to the stadium getting a revamp ahead of the Paris Olympics later this year.

This games obvious talking points include three new starts for Jack Crowley, Calvin Nash and Joe McCarthy for Ireland, as both Johnny Sexton and Antoine Dupont will both be missing from the fixture. 

Galthie has named a strong French side with Maxime Lucu coming in for Dupont and new captain Gregory Alldritt in the back row.

Over the last decade, Les Bleus and Ireland have built up quite the rivalry. Ten years ago, Ireland’s 22-20 win in Stade de France was enough for Joe Schmidt’s side to claim the title in Brian O’Driscoll’s last international.

Ireland, of course, are the defending Grand Slam champions, finishing above Fabien Galthie’s side last season.

FRANCE V IRELAND 

WHEN: Friday, February 2, 8:00pm Irish Time

WHERE: Marseille’s Stade Velodrome

TV: The game will be live on Virgin Media One from 7:00pm

RADIO: RTÉ Radio One will also be covering the game live 

WEATHER: It's expected to be a perfect evening for rugby in the south of France. Afternoon temperatures of 17C are set to drop down to around 9C at kick-off, with no rain forecast and very little wind.

TEAMS

Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony (capt), Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.

Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Ciarán Frawley.

France: Thomas Ramos; Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Yoram Moefana; Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu; Cyril Baille, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio; Paul Gabrillagues, Paul Willemse; Francois Cros, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt (capt).

Replacements: Julien Marchand, Reda Wardi, Dorian Aldegheri, Romain Taofifenua, Cameron Woki, Paul Boudehent, Nolann Le Garrec, Louis Bielle-Biarrey.