Ireland coach Easterby questions second France try

Ireland interim boss Simon Easterby questioned the awarding of France's second try while lamenting his side's wasteful display in Saturday's Six Nations defeat in Dublin. France moved two points clear at the top of the table before next week's final round of fixtures with a ruthless 42-27 victory over the holders. The second France try - scored by Paul Boudehent - put the visitors 15-13 ahead after Dan Sheehan's score early in the second half briefly gave Ireland the lead.Ireland were angered that Boudehent's try was allowed to stand by referee Angus Gardner after Thibaud Flament cleared Peter O'Mahony out of a ruck in the build-up. "We didn't defend well enough in our 22 but there are certain things that happen in a game, in instances like that, which are going to prevent someone [O'Mahony in this case] making a tackle, or be in a position to try and stop that," said Easterby."All teams try and create a bit of space through the ruck and that allows the next player to pick, but it's the judgement over whether that contact on Pete [was] close enough to the ruck to know if it was legal."It was three or four metres from the ruck, so that's something we'll reflect on and feed back to Angus Gardner and his assistant referees. Obviously the TMO also came in and felt it was legal."
With a mix of power and counter-attacking speed, France blew Ireland away in the second half, scoring 34 unanswered points to avenge last year's 38-17 loss in Marseille. And while Easterby conceded the French are a "hard team to stop when they have momentum", he bemoaned Ireland's inability to turn pressure into points when they had possession inside France's 22."We certainly felt we didn't take our opportunities or put them under enough pressure," said Easterby. "When we did it wasn't until the last 10 minutes of the game when we could score a decent number of points. But the game was gone."Easterby, who suffered the first defeat of his interim spell, added: "We felt that going in at 8-6 down at half-time we were still well in the game. "We were confident if we started well, which we did, that we could kick on and make them pay in terms of our fitness and our ability to go well in second halves, which we have done in previous games in the tournament. "Unfortunately, we didn't take enough of opportunities in the game in their 22 and we also conceded too easily."
Ireland captain Caelan Doris, who was denied an early try when he was held up by Gregory Alldritt, rued his side's ill-discipline with Joe McCarthy and Calvin Nash both sin-binned. "We thought we were in contention at half-time, we felt confident," said Doris, who was making his 50th cap. "We started well and thought we could go on to do it but that 25-minute period in the middle of the second half was where we just weren't good enough - our collisions, our discipline."They can create something from nothing with go forward ball, and that's what happened two or three times in a row."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

35 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Chelsea 'open talks to sign PSG star' amid doubts over Nicolas Jackson's future after his 'stupid' red card at the Club World Cup

Chelsea have opened talks to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani, according to a report. Kolo Muani joined the French side from Eintracht Frankfurt for £76million in 2023 but struggled for regular playing time. The 26-year-old moved to Juventus on loan in January and has thrived in Italy with 10 goals in 20 appearances across all competitions. Juventus are said to be keen on keeping the forward, who scored a brace in their 5-1 win over Al -Ain in the Club World Cup. However, they face competition from Chelsea, who have entered negotiations to sign Kolo Muani, according to L'Equipe. Enzo Maresca 's side have already strengthened their attack this summer with the £30m arrival of Liam Delap from Ipswich. The Blues' interest in Kolo Muani comes amid doubts over Nicolas Jackson's future at Stamford Bridge. Jackson has led the line for Chelsea over the last past seasons, scoring 30 goals in 80 appearances across all competitions. However, he has drawn criticism from fans and pundits for his lack of efficiency in front of goal as well as his poor discipline, having been sent off in Chelsea's 3-1 loss to Flamengo in the Club World Cup. Just a month ago, Jackson's Premier League season ended prematurely when he was sent off for a similar challenge against Newcastle on May 11 and handed a three-match ban. And Obi Mikel, who was working as a pundit for DAZN did not hold back when he was asked about the latest incident. '(It was) Unbelievable. Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake,' said Obi Mikel won two Premier League titles and the Champions League with Chelsea. 'I don't know what was going through his head. You come into the game, you are 2-1 down at that point. Your team needs you. And he does that. 'He did it in a league game at Newcastle. Again, a very important game which we needed to win to qualify for the Champions League. He did that, he got a red card. And now he's done this. You can't keep making mistakes.' But it was when host Ke lySomers suggested that Jackson's frustration may have boiled over from frustration at losing his place to Delap that Obi Mikel really lost his cool. 'I don't care what his frustration is,' Obi Mikel reacted angrily. 'It's a football club. It's a massive football club and it's about competition. If you're p***ed off that Delap's coming to the football club and he's going to be the competition with you... you have to embrace it if you are a big player. 'Because the only way you are going to win trophies if is if you are compete against each other.' It was at this point that Somers was forced to say sorry to viewers for her guest's language. 'Lots of emotion in the studio, so apologies for any language used there,' she said, holding out both hands in a calming gesture towards Obi Mikel. After the match, Jackson took to social media to apologise for his actions. Writing on Instagram, he said: 'I want to say sorry. To the club, the staff, my team-mates, and all the fans watching, I let you down. Another red card... and honestly, I'm so angry at myself. 'I work hard every day to help the team not to put us in this kind of situation. I still don't fully understand how it happened. But one thing is clear: it wasn't intentional. Just a football moment that went the wrong way. No excuses. I take full responsibility.

BBC News

39 minutes ago

• BBC News

Wales beat hosts Poland for third in Nations Cup 2

Wales secured bronze with a 1-0 win against host Poland in the inaugural FIH Women's Nations Cup 2 semi-final in Roberts scored winner in the third quarter as Wales made up for the disappointment of not reaching the were beaten 2-1 by Pool A winners Uruguay in Saturday's semi-finals with the South Americans awaiting their fate against Pool B table-toppers France in Sunday's drew 3-3 against Italy in their tournament opener and went on to beat Czechia 2-0 before reaching the semi-finals despite losing 2-1 to France in their final group game.

Scotsman

2 hours ago

• Scotsman

Lions coach provides Huw Jones update as injury concerns emerge over key duo

Scotland centre ready to play amid fears over Irish duo Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scotland star Huw Jones has been passed fit for British and Irish Lions duty but injury concerns have emerged over key Irish duo Jamison-Gibson Park and Hugo Keenan. The Lions squad touched down in Australia on Sunday with head coach Andy Farrell revealing that the Glasgow Warriors centre is available for selection after sitting out the 24-28 defeat by Argentina in Dublin on Friday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jones missed the end of the season with an achilles tendon issue picked up during the Six Nations. The 30-year-old spent two months on the sidelines after Scotland's defeat to France on March 15 before making his comeback for the Warriors against Benetton on May 10. He retained his place for the game with Leinster a week later, but the injury flared up again and he has not played since. Huw Jones takes part in a gym session during the British & Irish Lions training camp at The Campus, Quinta do Lago in Faro, Portugal. (Photo by) | Getty Images Jones has been building up his fitness since joining up with the Lions for the warm weather training camp in Portugal earlier this month and Farrell revealed that the 31-year-old is now ready to play ahead of Saturday's opening fixture on Australian soil against the Western Force. There are doubts, however, over whether Ireland duo Gibson-Park and Keenan will be able to take part at Optus Stadium because of respective glute and calf problems. 'We'll see how they pull up in midweek,' Farrell said of Gibson-Park and Keenan. 'Huw Jones is good, he's been training. He trained fully with us last week so he's up and running.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Lions squad arrived into Perth after a 20-hour journey from Dublin via Doha. Farrell confirmed that the team against Western Force will mostly be made up of players from Leinster, Bath and Leicester, who joined up with the Lions after last Saturday's United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership finals, meaning Finn Russell is likely to start at stand-off. There were no fresh injuries arising from the defeat by Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, with Farrell keen not to dwell on the disappointing tour send-off. British and Irish Lions fly-half Finn Russell signs autographs for a fan upon arrival at Perth International Airport on June 22, 2025, ahead of the team's rugby match against Western Force. | AFP via Getty Images 'We're here to build for what's going to be a fantastic Test series. We want to play some good rugby along the way,' he said. 'We'll find out more about each other as we keep on going. Of course we'll analyse what went on against Argentina and why, but that's all part of the journey – to understand where we need to go next.