And O’Connell, who is captaining Ireland in the absence of Brian O’Driscoll, knows that an improvement must be on show in France if they want to end their dismal run of only one win there since 1972.

"Our record in Paris is certainly a frustrating factor," said the Lions skipper.

"You can't give France anything easily over there and that's what we did against Wales.

"We gave away easy yards and turned over possession too easily. That's nearly a blueprint for not winning in Paris.

"France gather momentum when they're playing well, so we can't afford to concede that momentum. We must be accurate and enthusiastic.

"It will be a massive challenge because they're an excellent side. They looked very good at times against Italy last weekend.

"But when you look at our team and the experience we have, we can certainly do it."

Kidney has only made one change to the starting XV, with Munster flyer Keith Earls coming in at outside centre in place of Fergus McFadden.

And the Irish supremo insists his side must put the Welsh defeat in their rearview mirror to stand any chance at the Stade de France.

"We’re about to play another match and the record books are going to show we’ve lost the last three times to Wales," said Kidney.

"It is what it is, we can’t do anything about it. We have to move on.

"Keith (Earls) has been bubbling away since he's been back with us and has trained well. It was tough on Fergus (McFadden) to lose out."