date: Friday, February 2nd venue: Stade Velodrome (Marseille) kick off: 20:00 GMT |
coverage: Listen on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Ulster. Read live text updates, reports, reactions and highlights on his BBC Sport website and app. |
What a great way to start the Six Nations. This is the World Cup final that everyone wanted but never got.
I'm really looking forward to it. Ireland and France have been two of the best countries in the world for years.
It's going to be an epic battle and will set the tone for the rest of the tournament.
When I first started playing Ireland, the focus of the Six Nations was on England. France's strong performance over the past few years has changed that.
We won the Grand Slam last year and they won it the year before us. From a purely neutral point of view, this is a match that people want to see.
Being away from home in France is very difficult. Things will be a little different this year as the games will be played in Marseille as Paris prepares to host the Olympics, but I think what we see on the pitch will remain the same.
I remember the last time I played in France in 2022. It was probably the most physical match. He was encouraged by the French support that took him to a new level.
Although we lost that match, it was probably one of the best Test matches we have ever witnessed. The physicality and intensity was something else.
Both teams deserved that win. I think Friday will be a repeat of that.
The Six Nations is all about momentum. If he can get a big win against one of the best teams in the world, he could ignite the campaign.
“While Crowley shines, DuPont misses.”
We were completely devastated when we were eliminated in the World Cup quarter-finals. France were in a similar situation against South Africa, although they fell just short against the All Blacks.
It would have been disappointing for them to lose at that stage of their home tournament. We have the incentive to get it right, but in front of a home crowd they will want to give the supporters what they deserve.
Both teams have a lot at stake and it will be a fun matchup.
It's a new start for quite a few teams, but for us and France we have decided on a team. We know we can put together a performance and we have the team and importantly the depth to get the job done.
Our boys can step up at almost any position and that is one of our biggest strengths. We need to pay attention to some of the players who were unable to participate in Round 23.
I know Ireland can go all the way and hopefully get a Grand Slam, but we'll have to wait and see how the opening match goes.
France will have to play without Antoine Dupont, who is absent from the tournament to focus on rugby sevens at the Olympics. This is a huge loss for them as a lot of their plays went through him.
He is one of the best players in the world at the moment and we will miss his presence in the tournament.
Ireland are also without a key player in Johnny Sexton, who retired after the World Cup. It's going to be tough, but I know Jack Crowley will be up to the task.
I was really impressed with Jack, especially at the World Cup. He's really grown as a player and although he's still young at 24, his confidence and the way he runs the team is pretty exceptional for a player his age.
He has the skill set, but more importantly, he has the mindset to make it happen. There's something about him. The players around him will help him settle in and he has a familiar backline around him that will help him.
I know people say he needs space to grow and make mistakes, but I don't think he thinks like that.
This is his chance and he will want to seize it. He's not a maverick, he's really disciplined and his talent is there, but how he uses it is the key. I think he has a really big future in Ireland.
“I'm currently on school run.”
It was tough knowing I would be missing the tournament due to injury. It's been a while since I watched a Six Nations from outside.
While training for the last session of the week, I suffered an unusual injury to my biceps. I knew right away that this was going to be bad because I could see that my biceps weren't sitting properly.
It was really unfortunate timing with the two European games against Ulster and the Six Nations, but sometimes things like that happen.
I am working hard on my rehabilitation so that I can return as soon as possible.
I'm really happy that I'm doing more school events and spending more time with my family, so I'm trying to look at it as positively as possible.
Ireland have a great camp, they have a great squad and they came pretty close at the World Cup, but from my experience you can't focus on what you're missing out on.
All you can do is focus on what you can do and put your energy into recovering as quickly as possible.
Rob Herring told BBC Sport NI's Andy Gray.