Six Nations: Farrell’s Ireland must ‘stop rot’ after Paris humbling

On an earlier than usual Six Nations opening night, Ireland fluffed their lines in Paris on Thursday, beginning their 2026 campaign with a resounding 36-14 defeat by France that was as bruising to the ego as it was the body.

These sides may have won the past four titles in this competition between them but, for the second season in a row, there was only one winner when they went head-to-head.

An Ireland performance that was described by their head coach Andy Farrell as lacking «intent» continued a number of worrying trends from both the autumn and prior.

Coming into the game as considerable underdogs, the head coach had tried to reframe the changing narrative as his side now being the hunter rather than hunted.

For much of the 80 minutes in Paris, they looked like easy prey for superior opposition.

«It’s coming again next week [against Italy],» former Ireland lock Donncha O’Callaghan told BBC Sport.

«This Irish team are on the ropes and everyone is coming after them – they might be the hunted again. They have to find the answers because Six Nations rugby is ruthless and they need to stop the rot.»

With Farrell rolling the dice in his selection – dropping James Lowe as well as giving Cian Prendergast a rare start – there were interesting subplots aplenty as the game neared.

Such was the nature of the Paris performance, however, that few such themes could be given fair scrutiny.

Ireland had picked a team to compete in the air but rarely challenged in that regard with the new-look back three of Jamie Osborne, Tommy O’Brien and Jacob Stockdale largely on the periphery.

While the loss of both usual starting props to injury, as well as two back-ups on the loose-head side, was unwanted, it gave the opportunity for others to step up and show what they can do, yet the set-piece was rendered a virtual non-factor.

Indeed, Ireland won a scrum penalty in the 45th minute but, such was the lack of pressure elsewhere, it was the first time Les Bleus had drawn a whistle from Karl Dickson.

Discipline had been a key area to improve after the autumn but, while Ireland did concede only six penalties, they frequently did not get close enough to infringe either, with 38 missed tackles on the night.

Ireland’s failure to get to grips with the non-negotiables – what Farrell called the «main part of the game» – left little point in sifting through much else.

«I think you make your own luck in this game,» said Farrell.

«Without the ball, I thought we lost that battle in the first half. The things like the high ball and winning the scraps on the floor, running through tackles or missing tackles etc – that’s the main part of the game.

«We certainly came off second best in that regard in the first half. Our response was gallant, but that’s not what we want to be, we don’t want to be a responding team. We needed to show it from the get go.»

Irrespective of another World Cup quarter-final exit in 2023 – against, it should be remembered, a New Zealand side who produced a brilliant performance on the night – Ireland felt on par with the very best in the game just a little over two years ago.

They appeared to put paid to any notion of a World Cup hangover when they opened the 2024 Six Nations against France, winning 38-17 against 14 men in Marseille, but it has subsequently been a very different story.

In the nine games since against the four sides currently above them in the world rankings, Ireland have won two and lost seven.

Five of the losses, and none of the wins, have been by margins of 10 points or more and there were times, especially when 29-0 down early in the second half, when this appeared the widest gap of the lot.

Ireland remain admirably consistent in winning the games that they should win. But winning those that they could win increasingly looks like a bridge too far.

Few sides in the world could cope with losing three players in one position, especially one as specialised as loose-head prop.

Jeremy Loughman had just five caps before Thursday’s game, while Michael Milne’s only previous Tests were as a replacement against Georgia and Portugal.

While that certainly speaks to Ireland’s injury problems, it is worth noting that even before Ireland’s loose-head stocks were decimated, Andrew Porter’s two primary back-ups, Jack Boyle and Paddy McCarthy, still have just eight caps between them.

That can be said to be a legacy of the continued reliance on Cian Healy right up to the point of his retirement last year but the situation in not confined to just one position.

Injuries are inevitable. Yet in the main, Ireland’s squad – outside their starting XV and a handful of select others – feels underexposed to the highest level of Test rugby.

For instance, reserve scrum-half Craig Casey has been part of the squad for almost five years and won his 25th cap from the bench in the Stade de France but has never started a Six Nations game against opposition other than Italy – he saw only seven minutes of action on Thursday.

Nick Timoney led the resurgence off the bench. The unwaveringly consistent Ulster back row scored his side’s first points of the game and led the belated charge at France.

Almost five years after his debut, and six months beyond his 30th birthday, this was his first Six Nations cap.

«You could use the excuses and they are there, the injuries, we haven’t the depth of squad to go that deep, but there’s been a fundamental thought of relying on the Leinster base and for the last few years that hasn’t gone as well for the Leinster team,» said O’Callaghan.

«You’re trying to integrate players and it’s just been too much of a gap.»