Ireland wary of France fly-half Matthieu Jalibert ahead of Six Nations opener

CJ Stander has warned Ireland to beware of rookie France fly-half Matthieu Jalibert’s livewire attacking craft.

Ireland flanker Stander believes uncapped playmaker Jalibert can easily belie his inexperience to dictate the tempo for the new-look France outfit in Saturday’s NatWest 6 Nations opener in Paris.

Teen star Jalibert has just 15 league appearances for Bordeaux Begles under his belt, but has been thrust into Les Bleus’ starting line-up for Jacques Brunel’s first game at the helm.

Ireland’s back-row of Stander, Josh van der Flier and Peter O’Mahony could be forgiven for licking their lips at the prospect of hunting down an untried 10 – but the Munster loose-forward insisted Ireland must keep a close eye on France’s latest prodigy.

“He plays a good game, he’s very exciting and tries anything from anywhere, so we’ve got to watch him closely,” said Stander, of 19-year-old Jalibert.

“He can bring anything, you don’t know what he’s going to bring, so you’ve got to get in his face and just try to shut him down.

“We try to put pressure on any fly-half we come up against, so it will be no different with Jalibert this weekend. If he’s good enough and he gets a chance then he should grab it.

“He’s been great when he’s played for his club, so I’m looking forward to getting a chance to play against him.”

Leinster lock James Ryan will earn just his fifth cap after dislodging mainstay Devin Toner to start in Joe Schmidt’s Ireland side at the Stade de France.

The 21-year-old will partner Iain Henderson in the engine room, while Bundee Aki and Jacob Stockdale will make their Six Nations debuts in a strong Ireland line-up.

Johnny Sexton copped a host of heavy and late hits as Ireland slipped up 10-9 in Paris two years ago – but boss Schmidt has backed referee Nigel Owens to police any foul play this time out.

Asked if he expects Sexton to receive further rough treatment this weekend, Schmidt replied: “It hasn’t been part of the game in the teams I’ve seen Jacques coach in the past. So I’d hope that it’s not.

“I think the officials are trying really hard to protect all 30 people on the pitch.

“I think it’s been ramped up since we were involved two years ago. It’s not the same referee this time.

“We hope with the referee we’ve got that it won’t even enter into the fray.”

Former Ireland Under-20s captain Ryan has long since been earmarked as a future Test leader, and now has the chance to cement his promise against a powerful French pack.

“We want to be able to keep building in that position.

“It’s a position we don’t have huge depth in, and we’ve given James an opportunity.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing what he delivers on Saturday.”