The obvious place to start is half-time, inside the Ireland changing room underneath a raucous Stade de France.
The score is 22-0.
The players come in, drenched to the bone. They need to catch their breath. Slow the heart rates right down. Drink some fluids. Take a moment to settle.
The specialist coaches will speak to each unit. Simple messaging to fix the glaring problems.
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Andy Farrell is surveying the scene, looking at body language before he says a word. Andy would know to tap into the emotional side of what it means to play for Ireland.
I’ve been in the Ireland changing room when a test match is going south. He would have mentioned family and friends and the reason why the players are in this position: “That wasn’t the Irish team I know. Show everyone what we are about.”
The Grand Slam was gone. At 22-0, it becomes about the next ruck, the next moment. It is as important a situation as being a score up in a World Cup final. How the lads reacted in the second-half should dictate the run-in to Italy next weekend and the quick turnaround for Twickenham.
[ Andy Farrell disappointed with Ireland’s ‘lack of intent’ in Six Nations openerOpens in new window ]
The response is something. Nick Timoney came off the bench and caused havoc. He even scored a try when Jack Crowley was at first receiver and Sam Prendergast was second receiver before Stu McCloskey’s offload sent him clear.
Along with Jack Conan and James Ryan, the big Irish forwards watching the first-half from the stand, Timoney went about solving the main issue: slow ball.
Social media was already piling into Sam Prendergast. The 10 will always get the brunt of a heavy loss. I hope he stays off the X app.
I would not isolate Prendergast for the first three French tries. He had to swing a boot at the ball leading to Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s opening score. Otherwise, it would have been a French lineout near the Irish line. Bielle-Biarrey burned Jamison Gibson-Park, Prendergast and Jacob Stockdale before dotting down.
Plenty of blame to go round.
We discussed the second try, off a France five-metre scrum, in the Virgin Media studio. It looked like a missed tackle by Prendergast on Matthieu Jalibert, but the French outhalf was supposed to be hit – man and ball – by Tommy O’Brien. Jalibert is moving at 100km/h and stepping off his left foot, but it was O’Brien’s tackle to make.
For the third try, finished by Charles Ollivon, Prendergast is fixed by French prop Jean-Baptiste Gros. Now, he could have put Gros to ground to deny an inside pass, but the line-break came from a chip and slap backwards by Jalibert.
Again and again, Ireland lost out in traffic.
[ French Six Nations media reaction: ‘Ireland were non-existent for 20 minutes’Opens in new window ]
Really, the game was signed and sealed at the breakdown. The successful years under Andy Farrell, and Joe Schmidt before Andy, stemmed from two-second ruck-ball. That’s the perfect scenario: get low and win the initial point of contact, over the tackled Irish player. This demands violently aggressive yet surgically accurate clearing of French bodies to allow Gibson-Park launch the gameplan.
The pass comes amid a blur of blue shirts and Ireland are never going to make headway.
The plan of attack disintegrates with slow, pressurised possession, forcing the ball into the sky.
France, as Farrell highlighted afterwards, had greater intent in almost every contest. He said he’d never seen that from this Irish team.
If he says that on television, he will deliver the same message to the players. Just in more detail. Actually, Simon Easterby will take them through an excruciating review.
There is nowhere to hide for Ireland. They would have stuck together on Thursday night, probably retreating to the team room for a few drinks.
How far behind the leading pack are Ireland after defeat against France?
France were more aggressive in the air and on the floor. It was like watching a dominant Aussie Rules team. The Irish wingers – O’Brien and Stockdale – timed their jumps, getting a hand on every other dropping ball. But France gathered 90 per cent of the breaks in the first-half.
The kicking was well executed for the most part, but Ireland lost the scraps.
Also, France made the pitch look like a dry track. They were superb from minute 12 to 35. Almost unplayable. That needs saying before the piling into Ireland gets out of hand.
Rugby is a simple enough game. Ireland will take solace from how a newly formed frontrow held its own in the scrum. Every team in the world would miss Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong, two of our greatest ever props who contribute so much around the pitch, but set piece was not the problem. It was the ruck.
Timoney, Ryan and Conan went straight at the problem. Easterby will also highlight the second-half revival in the coaches’ review. I bet Andy will speak next, briefly, before opening the floor for the players to problem solve.
That is the difference between Farrell and Schmidt. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. By trade, in another lifetime, Schmidt was a schoolteacher while Faz played Rugby League for Wigan. The coaches and support staff will sit and listen. It will happen in a big room, with 40-odd people present. Everyone is encouraged to speak up.
[ Five things we learned from Ireland’s opening-night horror show against FranceOpens in new window ]
I think Farrell will pick the same team against Italy. Or most of them. Timoney deserves a start after tearing up trees for Ulster and in Ireland camp, for years now, behind the established backrowers.
Maybe Ryan should also start next Saturday. His specific job is to remove big bodies off tackled Irish player, so Gibson-Park can dictate the tempo. The odd time James gets his timing wrong, but the other 99 per cent of his clear-outs go unseen to the untrained eye.
Jack Crowley has a case for inclusion from kick-off as, for two seasons now, he has brought aggression off the bench. Jack is so versatile, so useful at outhalf, centre or fullback, but considering Prendergast’s go-for-broke approach in the second-half, when he kicked so well, Farrell might let his chosen 10 respond against Italy.
And then reassess, see what bodies are still functioning for Twickenham. To be competitive in the Six Nations, to remain in contention, teams can only afford one poor 40 minutes.
