Dubai Telegraph - France focus on Galthie's midfield ahead of Ireland Six Nations showdown

The head coach is set to keep Yoram Moefana and Pierre-Louis Barassi as his centres for a fourth straight match during this year's tournament.

The pair performed inconsistently during the wins over Wales and Italy which sandwiched the away defeat by England, decided by a last-gasp touchdown from Elliot Daly.

"Moefana and Barassi, there were big mistakes against England, for their final try," former France head coach and winger Philippe Saint-Andre told AFP on Wednesday.

"They didn't manage to close off the inside runner," the 57-year-old TV pundit added.

Two weeks after the Twickenham defeat the duo were influential in attack as Les Bleus kept their hopes of just a second title under Galthie alive by scoring 11 times against Italy.

One negative from the Rome rout was their combination off the ball, which was at fault for two of the Azzurri's tries.

France's usual defensive leader, experienced outside centre Gael Fickou, missed the three opening games with injury.

Despite returning to training the 30-year-old is unlikely to feature in Dublin as Galthie keeps faith with Moefana and Barassi.

"If you say that with Moefana-Barassi you'll score four tries, you have to be ready to concede two," Saint-Andre said.

"Their experience and the amount of times they'll play together, in training and in matches, will help them evolve and grow, to become something better."

- 'Potential' -

Moefana has been a dependable part of Galthie's set-up since his Test debut in 2020.

The 24-year-old is in line for his 35th Les Bleus appearance this weekend.

"He needs to progress as he's still a young player, who has a lot of caps," his France and Bordeaux-Begles teammate Maxime Lucu told reporters on Wednesday.

"We have to guide him more and more because he has an enormous potential with France."

Toulouse's 26-year-old Barassi made the first of his six international appearances in 2019 before a series of injuries restricted his Test call-ups.

Barassi and Moefana are set to play the whole game against Ireland, with Galthie opting for just one back on the bench.

"I think there's a certain amount of trust given to Barassi," former Toulouse and France centre Yannick Jauzion told Sud Radio on Saturday.

"Even if there are imperfections in defence, they are players that can adapt, that can understand their problems in defence.

"Bringing back new players for an important match, would raise questions."

A positive for the Moefana-Barassi alliance is the return of Romain Ntamack.

The fly-half will be back from a suspension for a high tackle against Wales in the opening round to offer defensive assurance among the backs.

"Ntamack is a good defensive player," Saint-Andre said.

"He's got character and knows Test rugby well."

Standing between France and a victory in Dublin, which would open up the race for the Championship before next weekend's final round of games, will be the imposing presence of Bundee Aki at inside centre for Ireland.

The 34-year-old was crucial off the bench in their win over Wales last time out and will be a handful for Moefana and Barassi to deal with.

"He's an exceptional player, so powerful, but Moefana is powerful too, Barassi is not too bad either," Saint-Andre said.

"France are in the process of showing they can keep the possession well.

"We can destabilise the Irish, but we can't be shy, we have to play with ambition."

G.Gopalakrishnan--DT