Brian O'Driscoll
O'Driscoll wins his 141st and final international cap against France.

France take on Ireland on the final weekend of the 2014 Six Nations championship

Where to Watch Live

France v Ireland kicks off at 17:00 is live on BBC One and BBC One HD on Saturday 15 March. Live commentary is on BBC Radio 5 Live or Sports Extra.

Preview

Should England win in Italy, it could be an afternoon for the mathematicians in Paris as France and Ireland go head-to-head for the Six Nations title.

Defeat for England in Rome and the evening showdown becomes a straight shoot-out for the title, with France protecting a 14-year unbeaten record against the Irish on home turf.

The match takes on extra significant given that is marks with the international bow of Brian O'Driscoll, and how the Ireland centre will want to sign off in the grand manner.

Should England secure a win over Italy of under 50 points, a victory of any kind for Ireland over France will be enough to win the title.

France – who recall Louis Picamoles after he was dropped last weekend for disrespecting referee Alain Rolland – would require an emphatic victory over Ireland if England beat Italy.

The French have won every Six Nations title in the professional era after a British and Irish Lions tour but face an uphill task against an Ireland who have produced shades of the performance which ran world champions New Zealand close last year.

What the Coaches Say

Philippe Saint-Andre: "There is frustration over the last match. You have to want the ball and to advance.

"What happens on the outside is not important. If I have to be the scapegoat, then no problem. But let the players do their work."

Joe Schmidt: "To be honest I could probably say my expectations have been superseded already.

"I think they're a fantastic bunch to work with, there's a great staff that surround them that make sure that they're in the right condition to play, they are incredibly well led by the captain and his cohorts and they're self-driven."

Teams:

France: 15-Brice Dulin, 14-Yoann Huget, 13-Mathieu Bastareaud, 12-Gael Fickou, 11-Maxime Medard, 10-Remi Tales, 9-Maxime Machenaud; 1-Thomas Domingo, 2-Dimitri Szarzewski, 3-Nicolas Mas, 4-Pascal Pape, 5-Yoann Maestri, 6-Louis Picamoles, 7-Alexandre Lapandry, 8-Damien Chouly

Replacements: 16-Guilhem Guirado, 17-Vincent Debaty, 18-Rabah Slimani, 19-Alexandre Flanquart; 20-Sébastien Vahaamahina, 21-Wenceslas Lauret, 22-Jean Marc Doussain; 23-Maxime Mermoz

Ireland: 15-Rob Kearney, 14-Andrew Trimble, 13-Brian O'Driscoll, 12-Gordon D'Arcy, 11-Dave Kearney, 10-Jonny Sexton, 9-Conor Murray; 1-Cian Healy, 2-Rory Best, 3-Mike Ross, 4-Devin Toner, 5-Paul O'Connell, 6-Peter O'Mahony, 7-Chris Henry, 8-Jamie Heaslip

Replacements: 16-Sean Cronin, 17-Jack McGrath, 18-Martin Moore, 19-Iain Henderson, 20-Jordi Murphy, 21-Eoin Reddan, 22-Ian Madigan, 23-Fergus McFadden

Title permutations:

Ireland: A points difference advantage of +81 means any win over France will likely be good enough to claim the title. England must beat Italy by more than 50 points to force Ireland to look nervously at the scoreboard.

England: Any win over Italy puts pressure on Ireland to beat France in Paris. A draw or defeat ends their Six Nations hopes while only a victory by a record points margin will force Ireland's hand.

France: Can win the title regardless of England's result in Rome but defeat for Stuart Lancaster's men means it is a straight shoots out for the title in Paris. France have suffered one home defeat in 47 years to the Irish but a win for England requires a heavy victory.

Six Nations France