Andy Farrell pinpoints what Ireland ‘lacked’ as head coach admits France were ‘playing a different game’
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell and captain Caelan Doris react to Six Nations loss to France.
Head coach Andy Farrell admits France were “playing a different game” in the first period as Ireland kicked off their Six Nations account with a dismal defeat.
The visitors were rocked by an opening period that saw Les Bleus rack up three tries before they added a fourth early in the second half that put the French out of sight.
Despite crossing through Nick Timoney and Michael Milne either side of the hour mark, Ireland could not continue their revival, with France having the last say at the death.
Bonus-point win
The 36-14 victory at the Stade de France leaves Fabien Galthie’s team in decent shape after Round One, with France eager to defend the Six Nations title they won in 2025.
Speaking after the defeat, Farrell believes his side didn’t help themselves in the early exchanges as Les Bleus turned the screw, building up a 22-0 cushion at the interval.
“Obviously France were playing a different game to us in the first half,” he said. “I suppose you make your own luck in this game, and rightly so with the way that they went about their business.
“They ended up creating a few chances off the back of scraps on the floor or high balls and stuff like that, but that’s the game.
“You’ve got to show a bit of fight and intent, and we lacked a bit of that in the first half, which is very disappointing.”
As mentioned, Ireland did salvage some pride coming up to the 60-minute mark of the game, but Farrell was under no illusions that his side was well beaten on the day.
“Congratulations to France, they were on a different level at times there,” Farrell continued. “More than a bit of a response (from us) in the second half, but they were worthy winners, that’s for sure.
“(The replacements had an impact), they did. Again, it wasn’t rocket science. They just had a bit of go-forward, a bit of grunt in the way that they went about their business.
“We got a couple of tries on the back of that, and it’s a pity we couldn’t get a few more in the end because every point matters in this competition, as we know.”
Doris reaction
Ireland captain Caelan Doris was equally disappointed with his team’s performance in the early stages, and as he admits, they left themselves too big a job to recover.
“Definitely not how we hoped or foresaw the start of our campaign going. Left ourselves too tall a mountain to climb in the first half,” he said.
“Lacking a bit of bite, definitely. Some class from France, but not good enough from us. We didn’t shut them down early enough.”
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“We allowed them to play some of their flowing, attacking rugby. Not good enough from us in the collision. Our kick chase let us down, connection-wise.
“Some grit and determination in the second half, good impact from our bench, but yeah, very disappointing overall.”
READ MORE: France begin Six Nations title defence in style as first-half masterclass rocks crestfallen Ireland
