Players’ Post-Match Quotes

PAUL O’CONNELL:

“As soon as Ronan’s penalty went over we talked about securing the ball from the restart and we’re very disappointed we didn’t do that.

“Geordan’s try being called back was disappointing but the whistle had already gone and we asked about the advantage but overall I thought the referee did well.

“It was a fabulous occasion and the crowd were incredible and I hope we did it justice. We put it together apart from the last two minutes.”

ISAAC BOSS:

“To lose like that is very disappointing. I remember the ball falling for the French from that kick-off.

“They played on and all credit to them, they had two phases before Vincent scored.

“It’s hard to scramble when you’re up against that kind of player. With a minute to go there’s nothing worse than going behind because there isn’t the time to respond.

“When Ronan’s kick went over we were in a great position. We’d fought our way back into the game and to go four points ahead of them was superb.

“They didn’t really look like scoring until Clerc crossed. We were feeling confident.

“The England game is our chance to resurrect our Six Nations championship.

“That makes it an even bigger match than France so it’s a shame we have to wait two weeks to get into it. We’d play it tomorrow if we could.

“It will be a big occasion. Every year the Six Nations goes down to the wire and I see the same happening this time around.”

DONNCHA O’CALLAGHAN:

“It was an incredible atmosphere, incredible support, great stadium and the players kinda feel they let people down because the result didn’t go our way.

“I know we performed well and hopefully the support will be as good the next day, and our performance will be better against England.”

DENIS LEAMY:

“Four points up with two minutes to go, and unfortunately we lost the ball, it didn’t go with us. I thought it was important to secure the ball, obviously, but it was a very good kick-off.

“Unfortunately they contested very well, they got the ball back, then they played it very well to get in under the posts.”

ANDREW TRIMBLE:

“Everything totally changed in those last couple of minutes and we’re just gutted really.

“You saw the effort which went into the maul that led to our penalty just before that so that says a lot about how much we wanted it. It’s very disappointing but we must lift ourselves for the remaining matches and achieve at least a Triple Crown.”

MARCUS HORAN:

“I’m angry with myself – for not holding onto the ball. I felt I was held back for that one but sure you’re not going to get those decisions. I should have held onto it. It was an awful way to lose a game…just awful.

“Their backs had been kept out of the game for the 20 minutes before that, their forwards were out on their feet. We took them on up front and held onto the ball.

“That maul upfield, you feel after something like that you had them. But their backs were sharp and as they showed, ready to strike at any time.

“Up front we battled hard, some of the mauls and scrums we did really well. It’s all about keeping on battling. Our try was well taken with a superb final pass from David Wallace. There were some great interchanges between forwards and backs.

“It’s definitely something we can build on. We know we’ve got to put away scores when the chances come our way. We didn’t do that today and paid the price.

“But you’ve got to keep fighting, there’s a championship there to fight for. There’s huge disappointment there after this one, but we owe the stadium a win.”

RONAN O’GARA:

“We thought we had it, then denied in the last-minute…we knew there was only ninety seconds to go.

“It was good out there – tiring – which you’d expect against France. I thought the boys showed great character, good skill levels.

“I thought they were dead and buried, that we were getting on top. By their reaction when they scored, they looked as shocked as we were.”