IT WAS ULTIMATELY a disappointing day for Ireland in Paris, but Andy Farrell certainly has some positives to take home from a bruising encounter at the Stade de France.
Not least the performance of young hooker Dan Sheehan, who acquitted himself admirably after being thrown into the action midway through a frantic, intense first half of rugby at the Stade de France.
The 23-year-old replaced Leinster teammate Rónan Kelleher after just 25 minutes to win his only his fourth Test cap, but was one of Ireland’s standout performers as the visitors clawed their way back into the contest in the second period.
“I suppose I haven’t played in many tight games, or games that I’ve been behind in this season, with Leinster or Ireland. I think all the games I’ve come off the bench in or been involved in, we’ve been ahead by a few,” Sheehan said, speaking shortly after the final whistle in Paris.
So coming on I knew that we’d have to start doing something different or get back into our game, there was pressure on us and I think maybe at times it got to us slightly, we got a bit flustered and didn’t get into our flow.
“But you could see the times we did get into our flow, we were dangerous and we scored points.
“We’re one step behind now, but the tournament is definitely not out of reach. I think it’s about focusing straight onto Italy. We have two weeks leading up to it and we have to take full advantage of that game, make sure we’re firing on all cylinders.”
Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park admitted it was difficult to build some momentum in the face of that early French pressure, the hosts moving 10-0 clear in the opening minutes and leading 19-7 at half-time.
“I suppose exit was the main thing, we didn’t do it well enough today and left them with a few opportunities,” Gibson-Park said.
“It’s very difficult when the crowd is behind them, they are a big physical team getting over the gainline, they are incredibly difficult to stop. Just thinking if you do get a chance to exit, exit clinically and give yourself a chance to get an opportunity.
“It’s without a doubt the biggest game of my life, and there will be a lot of lessons to take from it.
“They’re a serious team and they’ve outdone us today, but I think there’s still hope in the competition, so we’ll recover well for Italy, and all we can do is try win the rest of our games and see how the competition plays out, but we’re still hopeful.”
While Ireland didn’t get the result they would have wanted, Sheehan can certainly be happy with his display, the hooker looking confident and assured on the biggest stage of his career to date.
I’ve always backed my own ability. I feel like I have something different to offer than a normal hooker. I enjoy the open style game, the open rugby on both sides of the ball in attack and defence.”
And he now knows what it’s like to face the pressure of throwing into a lineout at the Stade de France.
“For the most part you can’t hear the lineout callers,” Sheehan explained.
“You’re getting your message from the loosehead and you’re kind of left there in this world of noise, and you’re literally going off training – picturing training and trying to block it out.
“It is different, I haven’t really experienced it before. In the RDS it’s not as enclosed so you can actually hear people who are five metres away, but in the Stade de France you can’t hear a thing from people who are two to five metres away. So it goes back to just backing your training and the drills you’ve been doing during the week.
“So yeah, something different, but an experience.”
Sheehan also produced an important play in the dying minutes, holding the superb Melvyn Jaminet up over the line. The frustration was that Ireland couldn’t capitalise on that moment, France managing to win back possession as the visitors attempted to launch one final attack.
“I suppose when you know he’s (Jaminet) going to be over the line, by that time you have to get your hand on the ball. If I go for his waist, there’s no point. In that situation you know you have to get at least something on the ball and then it’s just to wrap as tight as you can. I think it’s just natural instinct.
“Then when that decision about the (Jaminet) try was being made, we sat under the posts, took a breath and came up with a plan to get the ball back. Then from there we were getting into our flow, and in the heat of the moment maybe we made some slightly wrong decisions, but I guess we just need to learn from it and hope that we can get it right next time.”
Ireland also felt aggrieved with some of the officiating, and Gibson-Park added that they thought France were “pushing the boundaries” when it came to creeping up on the Ireland attack.
“We tried to make him (the referee) aware of it as best as we could, without getting in his face, which is obviously the last thing you want to do with a referee,” Gibson-Park explained.
“It was obviously a plan of theirs to try and take our space away, and there were certainly patches where I felt as though they were really pushing the boundaries.”
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