The Irish players will likely work things out through talks, but just like last season, the Grand Slam hype train has left the building.
On paper, an away game against France would have been the toughest task, but the 2023 Grand Slam champions met that requirement on Friday night with a 38-17 bonus point victory over a 14-man Les Bleus squad.
Former Irish hooker Gerry Flannery said, “If France had 16 players, I don’t think they would have won yet.”
Next up are home games against Italy (Sunday 3pm) and Wales (February 24th) before a trip to Twickenham to face World Cup bronze medalists England (March 9th).
The campaign ends on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day in its home base in Scotland.
The standards the team have set for themselves under Andy Farrell will mean all eyes will be on the prize, which will be the first back-to-back Grand Slams in the Guinness Six Nations era.
Leinster flanker Josh van der Flier said after the game: “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We still have four important games left so we’ll take it one step at a time.”
“I know we always say that, but it’s still the essence and we can’t move on. But it was a great start so we have to be very happy with that.”
France has not been a happy hunting ground for Ireland in the Six Nations, with just three wins up to Friday night.
Ireland’s counterpunching ability was crucial.
They scored three of their five tries three, five and eight minutes after France’s score, and never allowed Fabien Galthie’s charge.
Asked about the team’s mentality, the 2022 World Rugby Player of the Year added: “We’re definitely in a good place.”
“One of the things I thought about was Gary Keegan’s work as a psychologist and the way he coached… [hostile] Atmosphere, that’s what we talked about.
“Obviously some players have never experienced an away game against France, so it’s always a very difficult game to play.
“It was a game where the crowd was so excited that you couldn’t hear anything, but I said France had some good points and had a little bit of an advantage.
“You’re kind of ready for those things, and Pete’s leadership [O’Mahony]I thought he was a wonderful person.
“As soon as they scored, the crowd went wild and it was getting pretty close, but he just… didn’t raise his voice, was just calm and just told us to get back.” And he gave us a clear message.
“I think it was from a leadership standpoint, but after we talked about it, it’s something we’re working on and we’re in a good position.”
“But it’s one of those things and you have to keep working on it. If you don’t address it for a week, things can go against you a little bit at that point.”
“But I think it’s definitely been a strength for us over the last few years, and we’ll continue to strive for it.”
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