The men in green’s shoddy record in France, they have only won there once since 1972, will not fill any Irish fan with much confidence ahead of this weekend’s encounter.

But Ross insists that he and his teammates are more than up to the challenge of matching the World Cup runners-up.

“We're pretty disappointed with the way the game against Wales turned out,” said the Leinster tighthead prop.

“We've resolved this week to put right a lot of the things that went wrong. We need to step up and start delivering.

“Losing the way we did was hard to take, but in rugby you can't dwell upon previous failures for too long because the next game arrives so quickly.

“We have an opportunity to rectify what went wrong and that's something we're keen to do.

“Paris can be bit of a bear-pit and we can't afford to be off our game or we'll face a hiding.

“Just like in the Heineken Cup, French teams seem to step it up 15-20per cent when they play at home.

“The Stade de France is a tough place to go and we're under no illusion of what faces us. If we get it wrong, we're in for a long evening.”

And Ross, who was part of the Leinster side that triumphed in the Heineken Cup last season, knows just how important it is to get an RBS 6 Nations win under their belt before it is too late.

“If we lose on Saturday then it's fair to say the championship is gone,” he added.

“I can't see a team losing two matches but winning the Six Nations. A clearer picture will emerge after this weekend.”