Paris: Like a microwave dinner, France v Ireland has been defrosted and is finally ready for public consumption. The perceived wisdom is that Ireland gained most from last month's postponement, based on their subsequent 42-10 win over Italy.

The theory overlooks the probability of French improvement. A repeat of the casual first-half effort in Scotland will not be tolerated and history suggests Les Bleus will not start so sluggishly on thawed home soil.

Ireland will almost certainly know inside 40 minutes whether they have any chance of securing only their second victory in Paris in 40 years. The chronology of scores at demi-temps on their past five visits to the Stade de France reads as follows: 28-5, 11-3, 29-3, 19-6 and 17-3. That is a sobering 104-20 on aggregate.

Even the year they prevailed, courtesy of Brian O'Driscoll's shimmering hat-trick in 2000, they trailed 13-7 at the interval but that extraordinary comeback was a one-off. Allow France to get ahead at home and it is usually au revoir.

The last time the French trotted out for the second half behind on the scoreboard in a Six Nations game in Paris, coincidentally, was the last occasion they lost, to Brian Ashton's have-a-go England in 2008. Ireland, conversely, led France 15-12 in Dublin last year and lost. If Declan Kidney's players plan to reverse years of disappointment they need to start faster on Sunday and plant a few seeds of French doubt as early as possible.

That may be harder than it once was. Having deliberately opted for continuity following the World Cup, Philippe Saint-Andr has reverted to the back row that came within a point of raining on New Zealand's parade in Auckland. The battle between Thierry Dusautoir, Julien Bonnaire and Imanol Harinordoquy and the Irish trio of Stephen Ferris, Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip will be worth the price of a resold ticket alone.

No favourites

"There are always two or three of them around the player with the ball, they tackle you high, they prevent you from going to ground and that slows down your ball. For me there are no favourites for this match," Harinordoquy says.

True enough, but France are no slouches either. Under Marc Livremont there was little knowing what would happen next. Under Saint-Andr, whose methods owe far more to his time spent with Gloucester and Sale, there is more order.

"What has changed with the new regime? It has turned pro," was the brusque verdict of William Servat, the replacement hooker, in midweek.

Defensive preparations

If some of France's defensive organisation in Edinburgh was rather less flash, there was also a glimpse of what they can still do when the muse is with them. The slip-catch of a pass Wesley Fofana took above his head just before scoring his try was fabulous enough but the running angle he cut was equally sublime. The centre is not yet the definitive article but those who remember him from his early days at Clermont cannot believe the difference. "If you'd told me four years ago he would play for France I would have laughed," says Aurlien Rougerie.

Even without the elusive Maxime Mdard, scorer of his side's only try last season, France are not noticeably weakened. Clment Poitrenaud has his hairy moments but he and his teammates have averaged over four tries per game against the Irish in Paris in the past Six Nations decade.

"I hope people haven't thrown their tickets away," says Saint-Andre, aware the stadium has officially sold out again. "I hope the fans will be right behind us."

— Guardian News & Media Ltd.

TEAMS

France: C Poitrenaud (Toulouse); V Clerc (Toulouse), A Rougerie (Clermont Auvergne), W Fofana (Clermont Auvergne), J Malzieu (Clermont Auvergne); F Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), M Parra (Clermont Auvergne); J-B Poux (Toulouse), D Szarzewski (Stade Franais), N Mas (Perpignan), P Pap (Stade Franais), Y Maestri (Toulouse), T Dusautoir (Toulouse, capt), J Bonnaire (Clermont Auvergne), I Harinordoquy (Biarritz). Replacements: W Servat (Toulouse), V Debaty (Clermont Auvergne), L Nallet (Racing Mtro), L Picamoles (Toulouse), J Dupuy (Stade Franais), L Beauxis (Toulouse), M Mermoz (Perpignan).

Ireland: R Kearney (Leinster); T Bowe (Ospreys), K Earls (Munster), G D'Arcy (Leinster), A Trimble (Ulster); J Sexton (Leinster), C Murray (Munster); C Healy (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), M Ross (Leinster), D O'Callaghan (Ireland), P O'Connell (Munster, capt), S Ferris (Ulster), S O'Brien (Leinster), J Heaslip (Leinster). Replacements: S Cronin (Leinster), T Court (Ulster), D Ryan (Munster), P O'Mahony (Munster), E Reddan (Leinster), R O'Gara (Munster), F McFadden (Leinster).

Referee: Dave Pearson (Eng).