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{ Sized matters: Thomas Domingo, the French loosehead prop, is the Six Nations' little big man Photo: GETTY IMAGES

“These days players across the world are as big and as powerful as each other. We’ve all got access to gyms and conditioners. There’s no real difference between the teams.”

Lamont is wrong of course. And right. Right because, self-evidently, the size of the gene pool doesn’t influence the results of international matches in the way that it did a generation or so ago; because Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy, with fewer players to choose from, can now, on the back of specialist nutritional advice and a load of weights, churn out individuals who tip the scales with, and stand as tall as, the best of the rest.

But wrong because Lamont’s answer ignores the way France go about their rugby, which, at its finest, is an explosive combination of very powerful men running fast at pockets of unguarded space. It is the Holy Grail of modern Test rugby, and no one, not even New Zealand, does it as well as France when they are up for it.

In recent seasons, it has come with a twist. France have always done big and direct. From the brutish and bullying Gerard Cholley and Jean-Pierre Bastiat, down through Marc Cécillon, and onto the likes of Fabien Pelous, a succession of French coaches have reasoned that a good big ’un will marmalise a good little ’un. Current boss Marc Lièvremont is no different.

He also is of the opinion that size matters, only Lièvremont has shifted the big is beautiful philosophy from the pack to a specific area of the backs.

When Ireland take on France in the Aviva Stadium this afternoon they will encounter a midfield of Damien Traille, switched from full-back to centre because of an injury to Maxime Mermoz, and Aurélien Rougerie, who are a stone and a half heavier and five inches taller than their oppos, Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll.

Rougerie and Traille, at 16st 5lb each, are heavier than three of the French forwards, and taller, at 6ft 4in, than six of them. This is not a one-off. Last season Lièvremont selected Mathieu Bastareaud who is six-foot tall and 17st 4lb, while Yannick Jauzion, on the bench this afternoon for France, has been an ever-present at 6ft 4in and 16st 7lb.

It’s not as if Rougerie and Traille are just big lumps either. Rougerie, having spent much of his career on the wing, has gas, and, as his deft poke through for France’s opening score against Scotland demonstrated, can manipulate a rugby ball with his feet. Traille, no slouch himself, has started at outside half as well as full-back and centre for France in his 78-cap career. These guys can play.

That’s Ireland’s first job. Stop the French midfield from operating and you start to stop France, because they are at their most dangerous when their big men get in behind the tacklers and are able to offload to support runners flooding the holes close in. That’s the benefit of being tall and heavy on attack. It allows you to ride over or through the collisions, freeing up a hand to distribute. In defence the additional weight on impact can dislodge the ball, forcing turnovers.

Ireland play it differently. If their run-out against Italy is anything to go by, they will attempt to bewilder France with the variety of their offence.

Ireland weren’t very good against Italy. There were far too many unforced errors by D’Arcy in particular, but they are more of a play-book side than France, more reliant on choreographed decoys and deceptive running lines involving the back three. France thump in midfield.

Ireland, led by the majestic O’Driscoll, aim to obfuscate, to fix or wrong-foot defenders by confusion. Pull Traille and Rougerie out of their defensive channels and they fall off tackles. It’s not quite beauty against the beast, but almost.

The other big difference between the two sides is at the scrummage. France can. Ireland can’t. Again, size is the issue here. France were a stone a man lighter than Scotland up front yet forced a penalty try from Scottish inadequacies, damaging Euan Murray’s reputation for competence into the bargain. Against Ireland, France are just half a stone lighter but they still expect to dominate that area. Less weight, more go-forward. It doesn’t make sense.

Except that it does when you take account of the fact that French oomph is channelled through a front row which houses a freak of a forward.

At a vertically challenged 5ft 8in, Thomas Domingo, the French loosehead prop, is the Six Nations’ little big man. His diminutive stature is a virtue because taller opponents find it almost impossible to get underneath him to shunt him backwards. Nicolas Mas, Domingo’s mate on the tight head, is also smallish for a modern prop.

At 5ft 11in, he completes a squat trio which, when the front rows engage, naturally thrusts up and against taller opponents. Trying to get low in the stance to meet them head on, which is what Murray tried to do, means shifting your feet further back away from the hips which in turn makes you vulnerable to collapse. Ireland could be in real trouble here this afternoon.

Mike Ross is six inches taller than Domingo, a massive discrepancy. With the International Rugby Board keen to address the mess of collapses and resets polluting Test rugby, English referee Dave Pearson is honour bound to reward the dominant scrum.

So, a game of intriguing contrasts, of petit French props and huge centres against big Irish props and little centres. They may not be the only issues around which the game turns. The French mood generally, the return of the excellent Jamie Heaslip and the fact that Ireland won’t be as diffident as they were in Rome may affect the result. But in an age where the top teams are all much of a muchness, it is rather satisfying to anticipate genuine points of difference.

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