Best calls on the spirit of Chicago to see off France

RORY BEST has challenged Ireland to trump their incredible victory over the All Blacks in Chicago today against France. The captain knows that if either side lose at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin this evening their title challenge is virtually over. And while he is fearful of what the French can produce, Best knows the Irish are a changed team from the one that lost seven in a row against Les Bleus between 2003 and 2008. ‘The French are definitely a team that you’ve got to fear in terms of their rugby ability,’ he said. ‘When I first came into the squad it was a real rarity that we’d beat them. ‘We’ve won some crucial games against them in recent years, but they swung the momentum back last year in getting the win. ‘We play the French teams a lot more often now, there are more French teams in Europe than ever, so we are more used to playing them. ‘There’s a different mindset to playing for Ireland now than there was 12 years ago. We firmly believe we can beat anyone on our day. But the pressure of playing for Ireland, especially at home, is the greatest pressure you’re going to get. ‘We’re also fairly aware of the ramifications that there are having lost the first game. ‘After that you know that to have any chance of doing well in the tournament you have to win the other four games. ‘We know that we have to produce a performance against France that exceeds the one we produced in Chicago.’ Meanwhile, France will not specifically target injury-prone Johnny Sexton. Forwards coach Yannick Bru said: ‘In the past when we’ve targeted him we’ve made big mistakes, so we don’t