Joe Schmidt has admitted Ireland have only a “very, very outside chance” of now retaining their Six Nations title. Ireland lost out 10-9 in France on Saturday, Maxime Medard’s late try denying the visitors in Paris.
Head coach Schmidt has now conceded that Ireland will struggle to secure an unprecedented third-consecutive Six Nations crown, with defeat to France following the 16-16 draw with Wales.
Schmidt battled to insist that Ireland will focus simply on preparing to take on England at Twickenham on Saturday, February 27, knowing full well however just how tough such single-mindedness will be.
“There’s no hiding our disappointment that while mathematically there’s an outside chance, realistically we know that it is a very, very outside chance,” said Schmidt. “To be honest, we are a week-to-week team. The titles that we have won in the last two years have never been discussion points.
“The next game has been the discussion point. For us it is about building towards Twickenham and putting together the best performance that we can. The first thing is to get the medical assessment and put together the players that we have that are fit and ready to go.”
France’s risky strategy of sending potent scrummagers Rabah Slimani and Eddy Ben Arous into action off the bench proved successful, Medard’s try the fruit of four scrums on Ireland’s 5m line.
Ireland boss Schmidt branded the refereeing of the second-half set-piece “incredibly frustrating” however, claiming France were gaining an illegal edge by driving at outlawed angles.
Ireland will hope Cian Healy and Mike Ross are ready for England, after returning from injury for Leinster on Friday. Healy is back after knee surgery while Ross has beaten a hamstring complaint.
Dave Kearney is likely to miss the rest of the tournament with damage to the AC joint in his shoulder, while Sean O’Brien has a new hamstring problem and Mike McCarthy concussion.
