Fabien Galthie not expecting different Ireland approach without Johnny Sexton

France head coach Fabien Galthie does not expect Ireland to modify their offensive style of play in the absence of injured captain Johnny Sexton.

Les Bleus were preparing for fly-half Sexton to lead the Irish in Paris this weekend before he was ruled out by a hamstring issue on Thursday morning and replaced by Joey Carbery.

Saturday evening’s mouth-watering Stade de France clash is already being touted as a potential Guinness Six Nations title decider, with both sides in form and producing free-flowing rugby.

“We worked on Ireland and prepared for the game with him at fly-half,” Galthie said of Sexton.

“What we saw against Wales (last weekend) and New Zealand (in the autumn) he was their playmaker, their lead, their captain.

“We think this team are very structured, they have a very serene gameplan, they will keep that style of attack.

“We imagine they will keep the same fundamentals, attack and defence-wise despite the absence of Johnny Sexton.”

France fans, are you ready for R2?