Ireland centre Michelle Claffey believes her side showed flashes of brilliance despite losing 47-17 to France in the Women’s Six Nations at Donnybrook.
Head coach Adam Griggs had to make do without Claffey, who had started every game of the Championship before sustaining an injury against Italy, on Friday with Sene Naoupu filling in at inside centre.
The visitors needed to win the match to prevent England from clinching the title and they scored early through Caroline Thomas but Ireland’s captain Ciara Griffin went over just six minutes later.
France responded quickly through Ian Jason’s try but Ireland held on when Claire Molloy scored to reduce the deficit to 12-14 before the reigning champions ran in another two tries before the break to secure the bonus point.
And Claffey admitted that while Ireland start their games well, a loss of concentration in latter stages costs the team.
“During the Championship, we have always had a good start – in all our games,” said the Guinness Pitchside pundit.
“We’ve showed that we can play rugby and move the ball around well. Our start against England was a good example of that.
“But at times there has just been that loss in concentration towards the end of the game, and that’s cost us. But the strength of the lineout was good and that’s encouraging.”
Ireland’s only win of the 2019 Championship came against Scotland in Round Two while they ran Italy close before losing 29-27 in Round Three.
In the second-half against France, Ireland scored one try in comparison to three from the visitors and Claffey believed her side need to be more clinical but there were some flashes of brilliance.
The result against France wasn’t what we deserved and didn’t reflect what we saw on the pitch. We showed a lot of heart and there were some flashes of brilliance.
“The next stage of our development is to execute our chances – we get into some good areas but we’re still struggling to be clinical. That’s crucial against top sides.”
“England have been exceptional this tournament. You can see the effects of the huge investment made in women’s rugby there.
“It’s translated into the performances you’ve seen over the past few weeks. France have also been great and reflect the strength of teams in the Northern hemisphere.”
