History will be against Ireland on Saturday but that does not bother their coach Joe Schmidt.

A victory for Ireland against France — barring England clocking up a huge win in Rome — will give them their first Six Nations title since 2009.

Ireland have won just twice in Paris in the last 43 years — in 2000 and 1972 — but Schmidt is not troubled by such statistics given that he helped Clermont claim their first Top 14 league title in 11 final appearances.

Prior to that triumph in 2010, Clermont fans had talked of a curse but Schmidt, who was part of the coaching team, rejected such superstition back then and is now aiming to help Ireland get over their Parisian mental block.

“Thankfully in my last year we won the title but one of the things they talked often about in France is this ‘malediction’, this bad luck that was always going to haunt the Clermont team whenever they got to a final,” said Schmidt. “And that’s why they didn’t win 10 of them before they did.

“I’m not a big believer in superstition. I would describe it as the ‘pensee de parasite’, it’s a parasite of thinking that erodes the logical mainstream thinking about what you actually need to deliver on the field. I don’t think we can get too distracted by the history or by the results or by the points differential. Regardless of what happens we will be very much focused on trying to put in the best performance we can.”

Tommy Bowe was training today as he continues his return from long-term groin trouble.

Schmidt said Ireland’s coaches were “very open-minded about selection” but conceded it could be tough for the wing to force his way into the squad for Saturday.