The dreams of winning three Six Nations titles have gone up in smoke after Ireland suffered a one-point defeat to the French in Paris on Saturday afternoon.
Maxime Medard scored the game's only try, eleven minutes from time as Guy Noves side remain on course for the Grand Slam with two wins from two games.
Off the Ball spoke to the Irish Independent's Ruaidhri O'Connor live in the Stade de France moments after the full-time whistle and he called the loss "so disappointing". The Ireland team "won't know how they lost that game because that's not a good French team. It's probably one of the worst French teams I have ever seen."
Ireland's Jamie Heaslip dejected after the game. Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
"Maybe the Ireland injuries took their toll", O'Connor added. "Thet were tired after that six-day turnaround. The longer that game went on, the more fatigue came into play. I did think during that first half that France were so so poor."
Ireland's next game is away to England in two weeks time, with the English looking likely to have two wins from two games. O'Connor feels that plenty of changes will be made for the Twickenham game. "We might see Ultan Dillane because Mike McCarthy looked in a really bad way going off. Dillane is next in line."
While the team may be similar for the Twickenham, O'Connor expects players to come into the team for the Italian and Scottish games in Dublin. "We might see a few fresh faces. Maybe a Stuart McCluskey? Luke Marshall was the 24th man so maybe he is closer as he has played under Schmidt before. I think the time to bring those guys in is not going to Twickenham against an England team who are looking quite formidable under Eddie Jones."
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