France against Ireland promises to be a blockbuster and without wishing to be overly anglocentric about a match between the two leading sides in Europe, there is an irresistible narrative as Shaun Edwards and Andy Farrell lock horns again. They are two legends of rugby – winning dozens of major titles during their careers – and I have had the privilege of playing under both.
Shaun was the only coach who created a personal relationship between me and defence. If I missed a tackle he almost had a look about him that said: “Why would you do that to me?” Sometimes it is just a case of a bigger man running over a slightly smaller man, but I feared the feedback and the repercussions of not doing my job. Shaun, now France’s defence coach, was able to instil that feeling in me. To this day I cannot comprehend how the Rugby Football Union has not written him a blank cheque. His mantra is ‘defence wins you championships’ and throughout his coaching career he has proven it to be the case.
