Women's Six Nations: France v Ireland – All you need to know

Ireland kick off their Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign against France on Saturday afternoon and face an incredibly tough task in taking on Les Bleues, currently ranked third in the world, compared to Ireland's tenth.

It’s the first taste of Six Nations action as boss for new head coach Scott Bemand, who was part of the England set-up for eight years before joining the IRFU after last season’s wooden spoon finish.

Here’s all you need to know about the game

ONLINE

Follow a live blog on RTE.ie/sport and the RTÉ News App followed by match report and reaction from the Ireland camp.

TV

France v Ireland is live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player with coverage under way from 1.45pm, while Italy v England (Sunday 3pm) is also live on RTÉ Player.

RADIO

RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport will have live commentary of the game from 2.15pm.

WEATHER

It looks like being an unpredictable spring day in Le Mans on Saturday, with temperatures of around 11C forecast, with a light breeze and the possibility of some small rain showers.

Listen to the RTÉ Rugby podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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While Ireland have a lot of ground to make up on their rivals if they're to get back into the top half of the championship, they do look better placed to be competitive than they were this time last year.

While they will be big underdogs for their opener away to France, they will have the benefit of home advantage for the three most winnable games against Italy, Wales and Scotland.

On