Opportunity awaits for Andy Farrell in Paris as Ireland chase crowning moment in his debut campaign

While the IRFU’s financial bods might not agree, you could argue that lockdown worked out rather well for Ireland - or at least for head coach Andy Farrell.

The Englishman’s honeymoon period last winter did not last long. Promoted from defence coach following Ireland's disappointing World Cup exit, Farrell spent the winter attempting to loosen the straitjacket for which Joe Schmidt was famed. But the knives came out remarkably quickly for the former Rugby League Man of Steel once the Six Nations got under way in February.

An ordinary performance against Scotland in their opening game and Farrell was swiftly cast as a continuation of the problem, rather than the solution to it. Picking the same old players rather than looking to the future, appointing the ageing Johnny Sexton captain and pairing him with Conor Murray at half back, bringing in his old England colleague Mike Catt as attack coach.

“It is time for these players and the coaches to start looking in the mirror,” wrote Australian coach Matt Williams - Schmidt’s long time bete noire - in his column in the Irish Times. “The soft skills of team announcements on Tuesdays and playing music at training will not fix this team’s problems. Hard-nosed leadership, tactical knowledge and technical decisions are required.

“I am prepared to give Andy Farrell time but the early signs are not positive. He has never been a head coach before and it shows.”

A more convincing performance against Wales in Dublin alleviated some of the early pressure, but then came that shellacking at Twickenham in March, the 24-12 scoreline in no way reflecting England’s superiority. “Sorry Ireland toil in the heat as England run riot at Twickenham” wrote the Irish Times. “Rampaging England beat Ireland in one-sided affair,” agreed RTE.

Fast forward seven months, and the mood music has changed. Thanks to their bonus-point win against Italy last weekend, Ireland sit top of the Six Nations table by a point. A win against France in Paris could see Farrell’s team clinch the title in his debut campaign. A bonus point win would guarantee it.

It’s a big ask, of course. France look a different proposition under Fabien Galthie, Rafa Ibanez and Shaun Edwards. And Ireland are unlikely to do anything radically different to what they did back in the spring. Farrell certainly does not sound like a man about to throw caution to the wind at the Stade de France. "They're so dangerous, there's no pointing in scoring four and they score six,” the Englishman said this week when asked whether his team would go for it. “We'll stick to the plan and see how it unfolds, and hopefully we'll try and put enough pressure on the game to try and open it up somewhere along the line.”

Ireland do have one advantage, though. Destiny is in their hands, playing last, knowing what they have to score to beat England. And while this Ireland team may not look radically different on paper  - Sexton, now 35, continues at fly half, Cian Healy wins his 100th cap  - a bit of distance from Japan helps. This is a new season, a new team.

Rob Kearney retired over the summer, and with Jordan Larmour out injured Farrell perseveres with Jacob Stockdale at full back following his outing there against the Italians. It will be a huge test for the Ulsterman, particularly in defence. Hugo Keenan and Will Connors retain their places following their try-scoring debuts. Veteran Peter O'Mahony is again named on the bench.

In short, the match with France represents an opportunity for Ireland and for Farrell. A win - even if it does not yield the title - or even a battling defeat, and the Englishman can claim to have had a decent opening campaign. A heavy defeat and the knives could be back out, although even then the Autumn Nations Cup and the opportunity to blood new players is just around the corner.

Ronan O’Gara, the former fly half now coaching La Rochelle, believes Ireland have a fighting chance at an empty Stade de France against a France team who have made one change bringing Arthur Vincent in for the injured Teddy Thomas and shifting Gaël Fickou to the wing. "What gives me hope is that the mental barrier of going to Paris is over for Irish teams with the success they've had in Europe, so they'll be treating this as a 50:50 game," he said. "There's no crowd influence. There's an opportunity for Ireland in that they know if they're disciplined they'll be more disciplined than the French. Their penalty count will be lower.”