3 hours ago
5
Andy Farrell is confident Ireland can keep pace with Test rugby’s leading sides as he prepares to conduct a frank post-mortem into a resounding 36-14 Six Nations loss to reigning champions France.
Farrell’s side were outclassed during Thursday evening’s one-sided tournament opener in Paris on the back of comprehensive autumn defeats by New Zealand and world champions South Africa. Ireland, who are hindered by a substantial injury list amid a period of transition, also suffered an emphatic 42-27 loss to Les Bleus last year in Dublin en route to surrendering the championship title.
Asked if he is optimistic Ireland can close what appears to be a growing gap to the top teams, head coach Farrell replied: “I am because I know the people that we’ve got, the good people that we’ve got, the good players that are here but who are at home as well. I know there is a determined group to make sure that we are constantly up there at the top of world rugby to be able to compete, and that will always be the case.”
Farrell accused his players of lacking intent during a dismal first-half display at Stade de France which culminated in a 22-0 deficit following tries from Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Matthieu Jalibert and Charles Ollivon. Bielle-Biarrey’s second of the evening increased the hosts’ advantage before Theo Attissogbe added further punishment late on after consolation efforts from Ireland replacements Nick Timoney and Michael Milne.
“We have to [regroup] otherwise the disappointment stands for absolutely zero,” said Farrell, whose side host Italy next Saturday. “We have to be honest with each other and say it as it is and roll up to work next week and make sure that this stands for something. We need to use it to make sure we give a better showing of ourselves throughout the rest of the competition, starting with Italy next week. You cannot play the game at this level without having the right intention. It’s an absolute must and it’s the first thing that has to be down on the list to make sure that it’s delivered every single time we take the field.”
Ireland at one stage looked in danger of suffering a record defeat by France and potentially being nilled in the process before ultimately drawing the second half 14-14. Captain Caelan Doris said: “The bench made a good impact. There was some good resolve in the second half but we don’t want to be a team that’s chasing.
“We left ourselves too big a mountain to climb, and that’s down to some passiveness in D [defence], not being connected, not being dominant in collisions, allowing them to flourish with keeping the ball alive in attack. It was Faz [Farrell] who mainly spoke [at full-time], about coming back into work with an opinion. It doesn’t start at zero. There are some good lessons to learn in that, there was a lot of good stuff in the prep. We’re going to have a deep dive into how we can make that better.”
