It’s been a long time since Ireland were beaten as badly as Saturday’s French shellacking. Back in 2022 they also lost to 15 points away in New Zealand. Not since 2019, against England, have Ireland been left feeling so shell-shocked at home.

Where did it all go wrong?

Gordon D’Arcy joins Nathan Johns to pick through what was a French defensive masterclass. Following on from last week’s episode on talent development, the pair discuss how France had more powerful, game-changing athletes than Ireland. We also analyse the performance of Ireland’s halfbacks as well as how Ireland’s attack struggles to break down a certain kind of defensive system. 

Longer term, is this the time to rotate the team, to make wholesale changes, or was this result just part of sport’s cyclical, variable nature? Was this a sea change, a sign of France’s growing power in this rivalry or should we not panic just yet?

Produced by John Casey.

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