The BastaShow Baptiste Serin verdict on France versus Ireland

Baptiste Serin has given his prediction for this Friday’s massive France versus Ireland Guinness Six Nations clash in Marseille. The Toulon scrum-half was tipped to regain his place in the French squad after failing to make the cut for Rugby World Cup.

However, he has instead been sidelined since suffering a dislocated shoulder in an Investec Champions Cup match against Exeter in early December. He underwent surgery two weeks later and will be unavailable for four months, ruling him out of a Six Nations recall.

This has resulted in Maxime Lucu getting the nod to start for France in place of the unavailable Antoine Dupont, who is taking a Test rugby sabbatical to join the HSBC SVNS circuit ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Taking time out from his rehab, Serin has appeared on The BastaShow, the new RugbyPass TV series hosted by Mathieu Bastareaud.

Speaking about the upcoming Stade Velodrome fixture against the Irish, the injured scrum-half told the retired France midfielder: "These are two nations that suffered a huge failure at the World Cup. For me, they were the two best; it was the final.

“I would have put a coin on France or Ireland. Unfortunately, they came up against two big guns in the quarter-finals. It's going to be interesting. Ireland like to keep the ball. France will have to be as physical as possible and as realistic as possible.

“I see a very, very close match. It's hard to pick a favourite. It's going to be two wounded beasts. There are no real favourites. France will be playing at home, so it will be a tough game in Marseille.

"France will have a slight advantage in this context. We shouldn't forget that France have three home games in this tournament; that's still an advantage if they want to win the tournament.”

Reflecting on the setback that ruled him out of Fabien Galthie’s plans, Serin added: "I had an injury, which happens to a lot of guys.

"It stopped me in my momentum at Toulon, but it also stopped me from playing for the French team because it was my goal to get back there. The fact that I wasn't on the list was a real knock for me."