Ireland vs France Six Nations Odds and Picks

• France are 4-point away favorites at Ireland in week-two action of Six Nations rugby on Sunday, February 14th (10:00am ET)
• The French tournament-opener was a 50-10 triumph at Italy
• Ireland ended up suffering a 21-16 setback at Wales

France did the expected, while Ireland did themselves in during opening-round play last week in the 2021 Six Nations rugby tournament.

The French went to Italy, dancing their way to seven tries en route to a 50-10 rout of the Italians. Down to 14 men early in their match at Wales, the Irish continued to cause self-inflicted wounds while suffering a 21-16 defeat.

France is staying on the road this week. Traveling to Ireland, they are nonetheless the 4-point chalk to win the match.

France vs Ireland Six Nations Odds

Odds as of Feb. 10th at FanDuel.

Game time Sunday at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin is 10:00am ET. The match is being broadcast by NBC Peacock Premium.

A French Pasting

Italy were never going to be a challenge for the French. France was a splendid mix of fluidity, creativity and efficiency. Possession? They don’t need no stinkin’ possession.

The French scored seven tries in all. They touched the ball down for scores on 8% of their carries. That works out to a score of 0.6 points for each carry they made. They put up 50 points on just 84 carries.

How good was this man on Saturday! 😍@dupont9a 👏#GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/LotMtPVstK

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 8, 2021

France is picking up right where the side left off last year. During the 2020 Six Nations, the French finished with the second-fewest carries per game (108) but scored the most points (138) in the tournament.

Amazingly, France spent just three minutes of the match in possession of the ball inside Italy’s 22-meter line. Yet Les Bleus were able to rack up 50 points.

Unlucky Irish

The Irish players didn’t need to kick themselves following their loss to Wales. No, they did enough of that during the match.

It started early. Just 14 minutes into the match, Irish flanker Peter O’Mahony was assessed a red card by referee Wayne Barnes. O’Mahony gave Welsh prop Tomas Francis a forearm shiver to the head in the midst of a ruck. O’Mahony was later handed a three-match ban for this infraction.

🗣 Johnny Sexton on the Billy Burns kick…

"You've got to go for it. We were five points down and you've got to put it five metres out.

Other days you're the hero. That's the life of a number 10, it can come down to small margins."#GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/YAGeQPS9zj

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 8, 2021

The unforced errors continued throughout the match. The folly culminated on the final play of the match. After Wales was assessed a penalty. Replacement fly-half Billy Burns kicked for touch to force a lineout near the Welsh try line.

However, Burns missed his angle and booted the ball beyond the corner flag and into the dead ball area, clinching the victory to Wales.

Home Field Disadvantage?

This will be the third round of Six Nations play in front of empty stadiums due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s final round was also held without spectators.

Interestingly, the six matches sans fans appear to have eliminated the advantage of playing at home. Visiting sides own a 4-2 edge straight up in the six matches without attendance.

😍 @AlexCorbs was absolutely loving THAT Antoine Dupont offload yesterday!

📺 @NBCSports#GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/i7chyog6cV

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 7, 2021

That should provide a boost for the French. They haven’t won in Dublin since a 25-22 verdict in 2011.

The Irish own a 5-2-2 edge over the past nine Six Nations matches between the two nations. France defeated Ireland 35-27 in Paris last year. The was the first triumph by Les Bleus over the Irish since 2016.

Pick: France (-170)