We are throwing a damn strong team out to play France.
Ireland go into their latest must-win Six Nations battle with arguably the strongest team possible since we defeated the French at the 2015 World Cup.
Schmidt has recalled Jack McGrath, Johnny Sexton and Ireland captain Rory Best for Saturday’s clash at the Aviva Stadium. Cian Healy, Paddy Jackson and Niall Scannell all drop out and back to the bench.
Schmidt dismissed concerns of Sexton being ready for the match after missing a month of action with a calf injury.
“No, not really. Johnny has done a lot of conditioning in that period. Fitness is not really an issue for Johnny. It was just making sure he was fully fit, and he is…
“He was frustrated missing those first two so now he’s excited.”
Schmidt said Jackson took the news ‘with a smile’ and said he’d be ready, when needed, off the bench.
Also coming onto the bench are the Ulster pair of Iain Henderson and Andrew Trimble, and Munster captain Peter O’Mahony.
“We’re not as cohesive as we want to be,” said Schmidt. “In the first Six Nations I was involved in, we only had 17 starters across all [five] games. That gave us continuity.”
Schmidt described France as ‘really dangerous’ and conceded that they let a winning position slip against England in their opener.
Ireland vs. France kicks off at 4:50pm this Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.
