Six Nations: Andy Farrell praises Ireland's 'fight' despite defeat in Paris
- Published
France's victory over Ireland means they are in control of the Six Nations having won their opening two matches
Ireland will not sulk after their nine-game winning streak came to an end in Paris despite a "fighting" performance, says Andy Farrell.
France claimed a hard-fought 30-24 win having led from the second minute.
At one stage the hosts were in front by 15 points but Ireland fought back well in the second half.
"In the end [it was] two good sides going at it. Maybe at 22-7 down people might have thought it was a step too far but the lads didn't," Farrell said.
"There are plenty of positives. It's hard to take when you've put such a tough shift in like that especially with the fight and character that we had to come back.
"Their character shone through and certainly their fitness shone through so the competition obviously is slightly in France's favour, two home games that they have played.
"But the competition's only getting going so we'll lick our wounds and learn from what was a fighting, spirited performance."
Ireland's penalty-strewn first half helped France open up a 12-point lead by the interval, and the hosts threatened to run away with the win before Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park scored two tries in five minutes to bring Ireland back into the game.
However they were never able to entirely recover the deficit as France held out for a victory that saw them take control of this year's Six Nations.
"I thought they deserved the win because that's what the scoreline tells us," Farrell admitted.
"That's sport isn't it? We move on to the next one. France played a very good game from the start. It wasn't a plan of ours to go 10 points down after six minutes and at one stage we were 22-7 down so all credit to France.
"I must say I think it shows the fitness of the Irish side and the spirit that we had to be in with a chance of winning a game at the end.
"We already knew that we had character. We already knew that the squad was unbelievably fit and mental strength is something that we expect of ourselves.
"But at the same time we'll be honest with each other and learn the lessons on a few decisions that we made along the way."