Indeed, without major upset, France will win the Championship even if they lose to their oldest rival as Ireland have to overturn 50 points in the points difference which is unlikely to happen.
Winning a Grand Slam is always an incredible achievement for a squad but with 18 months to go before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, this would lead the way to a very prospect future for this young team.
Since head coach Marc Lievremont took charge in 2007, he brought back the French flair into that team, but most of all, he was not scared to pick young inexperience player over established older player in order to build his squad for the World Cup.
France’s forwards have become clinical in scrum and lineout and, unlike in the past, their discipline have become their strength while the backs are flying all around the pitch.
Lead by the likes of Dusautoir, the captain, Harinordoquy, Nallet or Servat, this pack includes a few young and very promising player such as Thomas Domingo, 24, Fulgence Ouedraogo, 23, Louis Picamolles, 23, or Alexandre Lapandry, 20.
Same story in the back line with already experienced half-backs Morgan Parra, 21, and Francois Trinh-Duc, 23, the huge centre Mathieu Bastareaud, 21, the athletic Benjamin Fall, 20 the pocket rockets wingers Alexis Palisson, 22, and Marc Andreu, 24.
This team is full of ambition, young talent and became exiting to watch again. They are now only 18 months and a dozen of game away from the World Cup where they surely will be a contender for the title and become only the second northern team to become world champion.
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