Nolann Le Garrec, the scrum-half of the French national rugby team, commented after the 38-17 defeat against Ireland: “We faced a great Irish team, well-prepared and confident in their plan. It’s up to us to bounce back: there are still four matches left and I feel the team is determined. It’s also part of our learning process, it’s not just about winning tonight.
We learn from every situation. It’s tough to digest, we wanted to make the fans proud and start the tournament well. We are disappointed tonight.”