France had so much of it on Thursday evening and Ireland so little. Trailing 29-0 in Paris is not where anyone wants to find themselves with more than half an hour to go on opening night. The two tries Ireland found in belated response hold only limited weight on the other side of the scales. For Ireland, they need to respond with a win, obviously, but a statement with it. “Yeah, but as long as I’ve been watching there has never been any doubt about the character of an Irish team,” said Prendergast.

Source: Irish Examiner February 07, 2026 15:30 UTC