Ireland coach Mark Aston spoke of his satisfaction after his Ireland side pushed France before falling to a 31-14 defeat in the European Championship.
Aston’s men threatened to shock the French for a second year running as the teams went into half-time level at eight apiece. However four second-half tries saw Richard Agar’s team avenge their surprise 22-12 defeat in Dublin last year and start their campaign with a win.
Despite losing the match, Aston was pleased with his team.
“I’m massively proud of them,” he said.
“The game went away from us in the last ten minutes and the score doesn’t reflect the game. There were plenty of positives. We’ll be a bit better cooked next week. I think we owe Scotland one from last year.”
Ireland will face Scotland at the weekend whilst France travel to Wales.
