It can be a distracted stadium at the best of times and a Sunday midafternoon kick-off in early February, with Italy as the visitors, does not appear primed to make the Aviva all a fever.
Yet it’s Ireland’s first match here since that memorable if anticlimactic World Cup campaign, and the first competitive home game since the Grand Slam coronation against England on St Patrick’s Day.
If nothing else, the atmosphere at Ireland’s five World Cup games in France and last Friday in the Stade Vélodrome puts it up to crowd and organisers alike to make it more than a corporate day out.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable,” Jack Conan recalled of last Friday night.
“It felt like 95% French people there. So, when we’re doing our national anthem and they’re maybe intentionally playing it out of tune or at a different pace, and then they do theirs and it’s just raucous and the place is bouncing, you can feel the energy. It’s incredible.
“It’s one of those things, I love it. If it’s our national anthem or theirs or whoever we’re playing against, to feel the energy is just incredible.
“Then as the game goes on you’re not hearing as much from the crowd and it’s kind of dampening down a little bit so you know you’re doing something well,” Conan ventured, and indeed the reduction in the decibel levels in each half spoke volumes for the Irish performance.
“I think going to France and playing in France and the experience of the last few months is something so different to what it’s like in the Aviva and pretty much anywhere else in the world.
“But, to be fair, when we play in the Aviva and it’s sold out, it’s the best place in the world to play. You look around you, you see your family, your mates, and then you’re doing a lap at the end and seeing so many people you know in the crowd and that’s unbelievably special.
“So, on a Sunday, early kick-off, hopefully everyone is in a good mood and the pints are flowing and you can hear 54,000-odd people.”
That stunning 38-17 win over France ought also to have heightened excitement for a tilt at back-to-back Six Nations titles. The debate is still ongoing as to whether it was Ireland’s best performance since the New Zealand tour or perhaps France were simply so below their own levels of the last few years.
“I think moments of it were that good. I don’t know,” added Conan, pausing. “It’s very difficult to compare games because of different oppositions, different types of attack and ‘D’.
“But that performance on Friday night was a brilliant stepping stone. We had already closed the book on the World Cup, but it was great to not back up a loss with another loss, to wipe the slate clean and now to build on it for the next few weeks to be exactly where we want to be.”
The degree to which this team can roll with the punches, when previous Irish sides would have buckled, was illustrated when France twice came back to within a score.
“Some things didn’t go our ways, some decisions didn’t go our way, we had a lot of moments where it could have been easy to get a bit rattled,” admitted Conan.
“At the start of the second half, we’d gone in with a good points lead but then conceded a few penalties, they notch up a few points, so it would have been easy to go in on ourselves. But I think pretty much everyone’s ability to be next moment-focused and be calm is something which has been vastly improved upon over the last few years. It’s something we’re constantly trying to improve on.”
Conan attributes this to the work of Andy Farrell, Gary Keegan and the team leaders, and this also makes for a more forgiving culture compared to when Conan was first breaking into Leinster and Irish squads. For this reason, he believes it’s a better environment for younger players.
“There’s incredibly high expectations and standards around the place, but a mistake is no-one’s fault, in particular. No one is ever going to get on your back for doing something that you shouldn’t have done or for making an error in a moment. Lads are very forgiving and understanding of it because we all go through it.
Yet the satisfaction over last Friday’s win is also tempered with the knowledge that France were well below par. Mindful of the width Italy played with in Rome last year and the tries they scored last week against England, Conan admitted: They [France] didn’t attack particularly well and they didn’t challenge us a whole lot, if we’re really honest with ourselves.
“I know it was a massive win, but Italy pose a completely different attacking picture and they will play from anywhere and take any opportunity, so it’s going to be a massive defensive challenge for us.”
Conan believes Italy have, for example, better starter plays.
“They do a lot of different short lineouts – three, four-man lineouts – and challenge you in around the seam, then try to tighten you up and get to the width. They’re not afraid to play from anywhere.
“I think France have become a bit more pragmatic, especially since last year when we played them in the Aviva. They probably thought they overplayed a little bit in certain areas of the pitch.
“I know it obviously comes off at times and they scored that unbelievable try,” said Conan in reference to Damian Penaud’s 80-metre try at the Aviva last year, “but they probably changed their ways a little bit and kicked a lot more at the weekend.
“Again, we know Italy will at times but they’ll probably challenge us a bit more with their width and the way they like to attack.”
