Farrell says Ireland can bounce back

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says his side won't have too much time to lick their wounds following their defeat against Wales.

Wayne Pivac's side won 21-16 in Cardiff yesterday, Ireland playing the majority of the game with 14 players after Munster's Peter O'Mahony was shown a red card after just 14 minutes.

While Ireland lead 13-6 at the half time whistle thanks to Tadhg Beirne's try, Wales made the extra man advantage pay, scoring tries through George North and Louis Rees-Zammit to secure the win at the Principality Stadium.

Next up for Ireland is the clash with France in Dublin on Sunday, France were 50-10 winners over Italy in their opening fixture, and Farrell says his team can't afford to feel sorry for themselves for too long.

"They'll feel sorry for themselves for a couple of hours, and they'll bring the best versions of themselves into work tomorrow.

"There's a lot of us in the group that's been involved in enough Six Nations to know that the Six Nations isn't won or lost on the first day.

"From here on in we've got to be clinical, and give the performances of our lives to be in the battle to win the competition."

Speaking on the Big Red Bench yesterday, former Ireland and Munster scrum half Tomás O'Leary says Ireland will be facing a very good side at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

"France's form over the last 12 months has been impressive. Their 9, Antoine Dupont, is probably the best 9 in the world. The likes of Teddy Thomas, the back three are lethal. 

"Up front is where they've gotten their act together really, the likes of Ollivon and they've got a really good front row. They're a well coached team now, and the impact that Shaun Edwards as defensive coach has on them is very noticeable.

"While we all know about the dangers the possess in their attack, their defence has become a tight knit unit and an area of strength for them too, so they're becoming a hard team to score tries against at the breakdown.

"You can't read too much into the Italy game, but they've illustrated over the last 12 months that they're a really top level team, a really physical team that can punish you with the skill level that they have too.

"It's going to be a very difficult challenge for Ireland to bounce back from the Wales game."