Caelan Doris rattles off grocery list of Ireland shortcomings after Six Nations opener

Ireland captain Caelan Doris wasn’t short of answers for the question of where his team fell short against France in the 2026 Six Nations opener in Paris, reflecting on the loss with resounding disappointment shortly after the full-time whistle.

Doris’ men had fallen 29 points behind before finding some traction in the game near the hour-mark, with the Irish bench inspiring the team’s first points of the game in what was ultimately a too little, too late fightback.

A Man of the Match showing from the French carry machine, Mickael Guillard, was a powerful component of Les Bleus’ consistent go-forward early, and the finishing prowess of Louis Bielle-Biarrey ensured France’s opportunities were rewarded with points.

“Definitely not how we hoped or foresaw the start of our campaign going,” Doris reflected for ITV Sport after shaking hands with the evening’s victors. “We left ourselves too tall a mountain to climb in the first half. We were lacking a bit of bite, definitely.

“Some class from them, but not good enough from us. We didn’t shut them down early enough. We allowed them to play some of their flowing, attacking rugby. Not good enough from us in the collision. And, our kick-chase let us down, connections-wise.

“Some grit and determination in the second half and good impact from our bench, but very disappointing overall.”

When the missed tackle stats for the first half alone were brought up, Doris did anything but deflect.

“Not only was it 19 missed tackles, but the amount of offloads we allowed them to get away through tackles. We targeted a lot of dominant tackles because we know how good they can be when they get their hands free, and we allowed them to do that way too much.

“I think some of our defence played into their hands through the lack of dominant collisions, which is exactly what they want, and they flourished with that.”

22m Entries

Avg. Points Scored

2.7

13

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Avg. Points Scored

1.7

8

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By the game’s end, Ireland’s missed tackle count had reached 35, while on the attacking side of the ball, Doris and company managed just five linebreaks to France’s 13.

The late momentum change will be one positive Ireland can cling to, with reserves Michael Milne and Nick Timoney the try-scorers for the men in green. But Doris was weary of placing too much emphasis on the bench as a tactic.

“As I mentioned at the start, I think the impact from the bench was class. We’ve relied on them in the past, and we didn’t want to do that today, but yeah, they showed up in what is a hostile place.

“But like I say, it’s going to be a disappointing changing room in there, for sure.”