Galthie banking on Moefana-Barassi midfield pairing

France head to Ireland on Saturday in a probable Six Nations title decider with a lot of focus on Fabien Galthie’s choice in midfield.

- 

The head coach has kept Yoram Moefana (right) and Pierre-Louis Barassi as his centres for a fourth straight match during this year’s tournament.

The pair performed inconsistently during the wins over Wales and Italy, which sandwiched the away defeat by England, decided by a last-gasp touchdown from Elliot Daly.

"Moefana and Barassi, there were big mistakes against England, for their final try," former France head coach and winger Philippe Saint-Andre said.

"They didn’t manage to close off the inside runner," the 57-year-old TV pundit added.

Two weeks after the Twickenham defeat the duo were influential in attack as Les Bleus kept their hopes of just a second title under Galthie alive by scoring 11 times against Italy.

One negative from the Rome rout was their combination off the ball, which was at fault for two of the Azzurri's tries.