In his post-match analysis for Virgin, ex-Ireland winger Shane Horgan went straight for what will probably be the biggest talking point of Ireland’s Six Nations loss to France.
With eight minutes remaining Ireland had a penalty in France’s half. They were six points down and faced with two options. An easy kick to the line inside France’s 22 or an easy three points.
They took the three points but were unable to trouble the French again bar a brief moment with just a minute remaining. Horgan felt that with the momentum firmly in Ireland’s corner, a kick to the line would have been the better option.
“And just one point and I know the guys may disagree with me on this but there was the opportunity to go for the corner with that penalty.
“Instead they kicked a penalty and went to just three behind, but the momentum at that point was with Ireland. They’d already scored from a rolling maul, France were looking shaky, they didn’t take it and they never got another opportunity.”
"This is a missed opportunity."
Shane Horgan believes Ireland made the wrong decision to not go for the corner when the game was 27-21 with eight minutes remaining.#FRAvIRE #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/U9NXfHrNzY— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 12, 2022
The View From A Six Nations Veteran
Horgan, with many Six Nations defeats away to France under his belt, emphasised the difficulty of winning in Paris in the Six Nations, and was clearly frustrated that Ireland had given up this golden opportunity because of what felt were self-imposed errors.
“My overall feeling is that this was a missed opportunity. They had that game, it is very difficult to win in Paris, you don’t get much better opportunities than they had put themselves in.
"They hung in in the first half when they had to. We knew there was going to be a massive physical presence from France. That was the case. They hung in, they weathered it, they came back, they put themselves in a position to win that game, and ultimately it was their own mistakes that meant that they didn’t they didn’t get over the line for that, and they will rue it.”
SEE ALSO: Player Ratings As Ireland Turned Over In Paris
SEE ALSO: Brian O'Driscoll Questions Ireland's Decision To Go For The Posts Late On In Paris
It’s hard to disagree with Horgan here, and with France’s Six Nations destiny now in their own hands, the rest of Ireland’s tournament may be futile in terms of winning it.
See Also: Watch: Brilliant Mack Hansen Scores Strange Six Nations Try For Ireland In Paris
