David Corkery: Ireland have no chance tonight - France will be playing for Uini Atonio and they will run through walls for him

When God sat down with his advisors to design a sport that would be best matched to the people of Ireland, they came up with a game called hurling.

The criteria that was needed to play this sport was fairly simple, with three principle requirements.

Firstly, all those who are to play it must be bordering on some kind of psychotic disorder. 

Who else would run around a field with a big stick with full permission to strike anything that moves above the grass?

Or as the great Christy Ring once put it, “always go for the ball, and if you can’t see the ball, you pull where you think it is.” 

So, we in Ireland definitely tick that box of insanity.

Secondly, the game must be fast, skillful, passionate and played in every parish coming second only to the catholic church. 

The order of preference of who now comes first may well have changed over the last 50 years because for some folk, sport is now the only religion they abide by.

Finally, the game must produce mythological narratives of great battles won and lost and with those stories must come legends who will be spoken about for centuries. 

Many will argue and debate as to who is the GOAT, but the word legend certainly follows names like, Christy Ring, Noel Skeehan, Brian Corcoran, Henry Shefflin, Nicky English, Jimmy Barry-Murphy, Joe Deane and this is only scraping the surface of those who will always carry the title of legend.

The reason I bring hurling into a rugby article is because when god designed rugby, I think he would have looked at both sports and determine that many of the principles that are required to play these games overlap, especially the ones that are prerequisite to play the game at the highest possible level.

The hurlers of this country may not be as laid back as the French rugby players, however the skill level that both codes produce is just spell-binding to watch.

For as long as I care to remember, French rugby has been depicted as intense, passionate, and terrifying to watch, but terrifying in a good way. Often characterised by a unique mix of brute physicality and a kind of unpredictable flair that at times defies all the logical thinking that the sport requires to function.

With nearly two million registered players in France, the sport operates on a deep-rooted "esprit famille" (family spirit) across both the amateur and professional levels and unless you are prepared to meet them head on in the physical and emotional challenges that the game demands, your chances of leaving the field with a victory are zero.

When the news broke last week that La Rochelle and French prop Uini Atonio had suffered a heart attack, that was all the statistics I needed to predict the winners of tonight’s game.

You can forget about what has happened in recent years, who’s playing well, who’s playing poorly, who is injured or who is suspended, because a French team with a personal and poignant purpose are as good as unbeatable. 

Health is wealth and should always come before sport, however, this French side that you will see run out in Paris tonight will not be playing for themselves, but for Atonio and it is just unfortunate that it is Ireland who will be at the sharp end of their sadness.

Thankfully, the news that Atonio is doing well has eased the worries about his immediate health, but it is sad to learn that he will never play again. 

I think he can feel assured that everyone in Ireland and around the world wishes him a very speedy and full recovery.

Long before Atonio had fallen ill, many critics suggested that Irish rugby had come to the end of a very successful period in their history and that Andy Farrell's loyalty towards the players of Leinster was now coming back to haunt him.

I would agree about the end of an era, but completely disagree that Farrell's decision to build his team around a blue skeleton was incorrect.

Irish rugby has experienced unprecedented success under Farrell’s guidance and just because the best players in the country just happened to be playing in a Leinster jersey during his time at the wheel, that had nothing to do with his selection process. 

He picked the best that was available to him, and no one can deny that.

If I was to criticise Farrell and his ticket of coaches in anyway shape or form it would be that he probably didn’t bring through the next generation a little bit sooner, and now that he is faced with a long string of injuries, he has to patch up holes that will not be strong or experienced enough to deal with the power that the French will hurl at him.

Even without the gigantic Atonio, the French forwards will still look to annihilate Ireland up front, thus giving the best number nine in the world Antoine Dupont all the space he will need to showcase the perplexing amount of skill that he possesses.

I’ll be stunned if Ireland come away with any change from this Parisian outing.

Personally, I’d just be delighted if we didn’t add to the long term injury list on this occasion.