Paul O'Connell wary of 'unstructured' France as Six Nations title showdown looms

France's "unstructured game" will be the biggest threat to Ireland when the sides meet in a Guinness Six Nations showdown on Saturday week, according to Paul O'Connell.

Simon Easterby's side top the standings with 14 points from three wins, while France sit in second on 11 points following victories over Wales and Italy and a loss to England.

While the championship will more than likely go down to the final weekend, the clash at Aviva Stadium looks like a title shootout.

Should France, who have scored 21 tries and hold a 63-point difference advantage over Ireland, prevail, then they would go into the round-five meeting at home to Scotland as massive favourites to claim a first title since 2022.

However, an Irish win would set up a Grand Slam clincher in Italy on the final day. Indeed, in the event that Ireland won against France, and England lost to Italy, the champions would retain their crown with a round to spare.

"I think they've been excellent," assistant coach O'Connell said of Fabien Galthie's side.

"There is a lot more unstructured play happening in the Top 14 when you look at Toulouse and Bordeaux playing.

"It's been really effective for those teams, and they’re very good at it.

"France have a little bit of structure in terms of how they come out of their own half, but they can play that unstructured game really well.

"They do a lot of it off mauls. They are very good at reading the speed of the ball, picking it up and starting playing. It can be hard to defend.

"I thought they were very good against England as well. That’s a very good English team that have their backs to the wall, that are fighting for their lives.

"France were excellent against them and but for a few handling errors in really tough conditions, the