Rugby betting: Six Nations - France vs Ireland

The weathermen are getting themselves in a lather about how spring has arrived early this year. The forecast for Paris this weekend is for beautiful, sunny skies, which as any rugby punter knows means a high-scoring encounter between France and Ireland. Click here for a free £10 bet on Six Nations rugby with Ladbrokes Marc Lievremont's new-look side ran the ball from every part of the pitch in their 27-6 dismantling of Scotland in Edinburgh last weekend. They looked for the tryline at all times and they have two good goal-kickers in David Skrela, who comes in for Francois Trinh-Duc at fly-half, and Damien Traille, whose booming boot can find the posts from within his own half. Although dropped initially from the starting line-up, Vincent Clerc, who scored a brace last weekend, has been brought back into the run-on 15 due to an injury to Julien Malzieu. Aurelien Rougerie takes the other wing berth and he is 12/1 with Ladbrokes to score the first try of the match, although Bet365 go 9/1, but they offer each-way terms. It's an exciting blend of talent and one that should ensure that the French go hell for leather in an attempt to make it seven wins in a row against the Irish. Eddie O'Sullivan's men were pretty awful against Italy last weekend at Croke Park, scraping through 16-11. At half-time it looked a different story as Brian O'Driscoll and his gang looked like they were about to cut loose. An injury to Gordon D'Arcy has changed things a little for the visitors, who have brought in Ulsterman Andrew Trimble to create a bulkier centre pairing with O'Driscoll. O'Sullivan also brings in the triumvirate of Jamie Heaslip, Bernard Jackman and Rob Kearney, all three hailing from Leinster. It is pretty clear therefore that both sides come into this fixture with combinations that have yet to bed down. Although this can be looked at both ways, it does mean the uncertainty could open up the game somewhat. This is a historically high-scoring fixture with both teams managing to produce an average total points figure of 51 in the five matches at the Stade de France in this tournament. Ladbrokes pitch total points at 43.5, which would have been enough in four of the last five encounters in St Denis. This looks one of the best bets of the weekend and if it pays out, forgive me for singing Frank Sinatra's immortal line, "I love Paris in the springtime..." Click here for a free £10 bet on Six Nations rugby with Ladbrokes