Preview: Mission improbable but Ireland promise 'fight'

It's chapter two for Greg McWilliams and his Ireland side as they take on France in the cauldron of the Stade Ernest-Wallon in Toulouse.

Make no mistake, earning what would be a first-ever win in France is a huge ask for this nascent team, who go into the game as 24-point underdogs off the back of a 27-19 defeat to Wales.

"We are going out to France to fight and to win," said the head coach this week as he rallied his troops.

Last week there was an air of cautious optimism prior to the game at the RDS.

Despite the turmoil from which a new team had emerged and a relatively inexperienced squad, there was enough going in their favour - not least that it was just 12 months on from a 45-0 win away to Wales - to suggest that they could get the job done.

The frustration of blowing a 19-10 lead was evident in the aftermath.

The visitors only took the lead with seven minutes to go and with a slice of luck, Ireland could have got the new era off to a winning start.

The three Irish tries came off just 34% possession and showed that this Irish team has the skills to break the defensive line.

"[Greg] obviously has a very clear vision of how he wants to play," former Ireland men’s head coach Eddie O'Sullivan told the RTÉ Rugby podcast this week.

"You can already see his stamp on the team; do they have it down perfectly? No, but who would expect that in the first game."

McWilliams knows he has to find the right balance between staying true to his brand and avoiding the sort of defeat the team suffered last year when they conceded eight tries in a 56-15 defeat in Donnybrook.

"It would be wrong of me as a coach if you think you are going to be playing swashbuckling rugby the whole time," he said ahead of this afternoon’s meeting against a France