Andy Farrell says there are plenty of positives to take from his side's Six Nations defeat to France.
Having lost by 30 points to 24 in Paris yesterday, Ireland's hopes of a Grand Slam are now gone.
But they remain in the hunt for the championship title as well as the Triple Crown.
In a highly entertaining encounter, Ireland bounced back from 10-0 down early on, before storming into the game in the second half having fallen 22-7 behind.
Mack Hansen scored a first-half try, while Josh Van Der Flier and Jamison Gibson Park both crossed over in the second period.
While some aspects of the performance were a source of disappointment, Farrell says his side displaying battling qualities.
A huge effort but we fall just short.
Thanks for all the support in Paris!#TeamOfUs | #FRAvIRE pic.twitter.com/MJJgSAFKO9— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 12, 2022
"The result doesn't lie, congratulations to France," the Englishman said post-match.
"I thought they [France] deserved the win because that’s what the scoreline tells us. That’s sport.
"We move onto the next one."
But considering the circumstances, Farrell was keen to highlight positives to the display at the Stade De France.
Joey Carbery impressed in deputising for Johnny Sexton, with Farrell hailing his performance as 'excellent'.
"There are plenty of positives," he continued, seated beside stand-in captain James Ryan.
"You can see by James' body language, he’s probably sore and a little bit fed up that we have lost.
"It’s hard to take when you have put in such a tough shift like that, especially with that fight and character."
Farrell's opposite number - Fabien Galthie - hailed the French performance.
"Against a team like Ireland, you have to accept that you will have times on the back foot and you need to limit their impact," the head coach explained.
"We managed to regain control in physically and psychologically difficult conditions and, beyond victory which is very, very positive, this will have been a good collective experience which develops confidence throughout the team."
Ireland's next match is against Italy in a fortnight's time.
