Irish coach Eddie O’Sullivan has dropped veteran halfback Peter Stringer for his side’s World Cup pool D clash with France in Paris on Saturday.

O'Sullivan, who named his team in Bordeaux, has also picked Jerry Flannery at hooker in place of the injured Rory Best for the match at the Stade de France.

"Peter Stringer, that was a tough one. Peter has been the star of the team but he has been struggling with his form and he is not at the top of his game," O'Sullivan told a news conference.

Eoin Reddan takes over the No 9 jersey from Stringer who played in Ireland's first two RWC matches - a disappointing 32-17 win over Namibia and a narrow 14-10 victory against Georgia.

"(The choice of Reddan) is based on the type of game we want to play against France, plus his form was good at the tail end of the season for Wasps," O'Sullivan said.

"He ticks the boxes for what we want this weekend and it is probably a surprise he comes in from out of the (previous) 22."

Andrew Trimble also returns to the side after being unavailable for the Georgia game because of a finger injury. He takes his place on the left wing in place of Denis Hickie while Shane Horgan keeps his place on the right wing.

"Andrew Trimble was a straight swap for Denis Hickie and it is not because I have been unhappy with his game," O'Sullivan said.

O'Sullivan admitted his team was going through some soul searching following two poor performances.

He also said the France match had taken on greater importance after the host nation was upset by the Pumas in the opening game of the tournament.

"Once the first game was over, this game became huge," he said.

If Ireland beats France it will eliminate the hosts before the quarter-finals. If France win, Ireland will need a big victory against the Pumas to go through.