Sale's Chabal scored two tries in the opening game against Italy

One of the try-scorers in Saturday's win over Italy, winger Cedric Heymans, is replaced by Vincent Clerc with David Marty replacing Florian Fritz.

Sebastien Chabal moves to open-side flanker, with Imanol Harinordoquy replacing Julien Bonnaire in the pack.

The other two pack changes are Sylvain Marconnet and Pascal Pape, who come in for Olivier Milloud and Jerome Thion.

Thion has not fully recovered from a knee injury while Fritz has been ruled out due to a leg problem suffered in Rome.

Coach Bernard Laporte said he deliberately interfered with a winning team to stir up competition among his players.

"The players who are going to start the match on Sunday will be very eager to show they are as good as the ones who won in Rome last Saturday," he said.

It will be a hellish game. Games against Ireland are always tough Bernard Laporte

"They know they are in competition with each other."

Sunday's match will be the first at Ireland's temporary new home Croke Park.

The team will play at the stadium, who has previously only been used for Gaelic games, while Lansdowne Road is being rebuilt.

Laporte said playing there, in front of a bigger than usual Dublin crowd, would add to the atmosphere.

"It will be a hellish game. The games against Ireland are always tough but this one will be played in a very special environment, in a stadium which is a temple of Gaelic sports where rugby players didn't have the right to play," he said.

"Ireland play good rugby and they will certainly will be eager to beat us because the last four times we played, they lost, and because we'll face each other in the World Cup pool phase."

France team: Poitrenaud; Clerc, Marty, Jauzion, Dominici; Skrela, Mignoni; Marconnet, Ibanez (capt), de Villiers, Nallet, Pape, Betsen, Harinordoquy, Chabal.
Replacements: Bruno, Milloud, Thion, Bonnaire, Yachvili, Beauxis, Heymans.