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| - Ireland's Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray have been the benchmark for many as the standout half-back partnership in Test rugby over the last decade but on Saturday they will face a challenge to that mantle as they come up against the young pretenders of France -- Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack. Sexton and Murray will start at fly-half and scrum-half respectively for the 61st time at the Stade de France -- 63rd if you include two Tests for the British and Irish Lions -- whilst for Toulouse duo Dupont and Ntamack, it will be just their 11th pairing. Whoever comes out on top between the grizzled, battle-hardened Irish duo and the dynamic, raw talent of the Frenchmen may well determine the destination of the match and the Six Nations title. Sexton, now 35, and Murray, four years his junior, first lined up together against the USA in the 2011 World Cup. They went on to become the puppet-masters of the team that flourished under Joe Schmidt, winning three Six Nations titles including the 2018 Grand Slam. There was also an historic first win over New Zealand in Chicago in 2016 where Murray was sublime -- he missed a second win over the All Blacks in Dublin two years ago through injury. Schmidt stepped down after last year's World Cup but the veteran half-backs continue to pull the strings under new coach Andy Farrell. "They are world class," was France wing Vincent Rattez's appraisal this week. For Ntamack, Sexton and Murray, the king of the box-kick, are the heartbeat of the Irish side. "They are the two key players," said the 21-year-old. "We have focussed on them since the beginning of the week. "We are aware that the game is directed by them and must be extremely vigilant." Not all, though, is rosy in the Irish garden as Sexton's fitness is of increasing concern and question marks hover over the form of Murray, the player once described by Ronan O'Gara as "the Federer" of the Irish game. Murray has seen off the challenge of Ulster's John Cooney, whose form has deserted him, but Leinster's New Zealand-born scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is a potential threat. Sexton, described by O'Gara as "insanely competitive and driven", may have increasingly creaking limbs but he provokes nothing but admiration from Ntamack. "He is a role model for me but not just me but others too," the Toulouse star said this week. "He is world class, perhaps the best fly-half of the past 10 years. "I cannot allow myself simply to watch him and let him play, otherwise things will become very difficult for us." The admiration does not just run one way. Sexton purrs over Dupont and Ntamack whilst Murray is impressed by the understanding they have built up on the pitch. He says one of the reasons Fabien Galthie has turned the French into a title contender so quickly since he took over after last year's World Cup is that he has stuck with the same half-back combination. This will be the sixth match in succession that they are paired together. "Firstly they're two individually brilliant players and that's a good starting point," said Murray. "But I think their relationship seems to have grown over the last while. "They read each other really well. You can see there is that understanding of what the nine is thinking and the 10 reacts or even the other way around." For Murray too, 23-year-old Dupont is the epitome of the old French scrum-halves -- the generals -- he used to watch growing up. "Yeah, there is an appreciation on my side for the French scrum-halves and the way they play the game," said Murray. "They're little generals, they seem to run the show a little bit more than the 10 in France. "Some French scrum-halves are quite laid back but Dupont at the moment, and (Toulon's) Baptiste Serin as well who is playing some really great stuff, are the real deal." pi/bsp/dj
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