Vincent Clerc looks to cross the rugby line

PARIS // Ireland have good reason to fear their trip to Stade de France for tonight's Six Nations match. They has an awful record there, and a motivated Vincent Clerc is playing on the wing for France.

Clerc has tormented Ireland over the years and is looking to close the gap on Serge Blanco's French try-scoring record.

He has 32 in 58 tests, six behind Blanco's tally, with eight of those coming in nine matches against Ireland.

The 30-year-old Toulouse winger was the joint-leading tryscorer at last year's World Cup, scoring six to help France reach the final, and got off to a good start in the Six Nations with a try in last weekend's 30-12 win against Italy.

The Irish need little reminding of Clerc's record against them: a Six Nations hat-trick when France won 26-21 in 2008; two more in a 25-3 win at the 2007 World Cup, and a heartbreaking, last-ditch try as France won 20-17 at Croke Park during the Six Nations that year.

"It's hard to explain, because a try always depends on the whole team's performance," Clerc said. "Maybe the play is open against the Irish and there's a lot of space. As a result, the wingers have more chance of scoring.

"I like playing against the Irish," he added. "You get to touch the ball a lot and it's fast-paced."

By the end of this year's Six Nations, Clerc should be closer to Blanco.

"The record seems to be within reach, but I don't especially play with that in mind," he said. "But if I do get there, it will be a nice souvenir to store away."

Ireland lost their opening game last weekend when Leigh Halfpenny kicked a last-minute penalty to give Wales a 23-21 win. They will attempt to find a way past France in a stadium that offers little reason to hope.

The Irish have won only once at Stade de France - 27-25 in 2000 - since France started playing there in 1998. France's previous home game against Ireland, back in 1996, was at Parc des Princes and ended in a 45-10 rout, with the new France coach Philippe Saint-Andre among the seven French tryscorers.

"Paris can be bit of a bear-pit and we can't afford to be off our game or we'll face a hiding," Ireland tighthead prop Mike Ross said.

"The Stade de France is a tough place to go and we're under no illusion of what faces us. If we get it wrong, we're in for a long evening."

Given that another defeat would effectively end Ireland's championship bid, Ross warned France to expect a backlash.

"We're pretty disappointed with the way the game against Wales turned out," he said. "We need to step up and start delivering. Losing the way we did was hard to take … (but) we have an opportunity to rectify what went wrong, and that's something we're keen to do."

* Associated Press

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