Opening night of the Six Nations was a difficult one for Irish rugby, as Andy Farrell’s Ireland fell to a damaging 22-point defeat against France.
Les Bleus ran riot against a faltering Irish defence, running in five tries under the driving Parisian rain.
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Farrell now must dust his side off for this weekend’s visit from Italy, a more nervous prospect after the Azzurri’s superb win over Scotland on the opening weekend.
There are some big selection calls ahead for Farrell, with many trusted starters having dismal nights in Paris last Thursday.
One of the few positives to come from the opener was the impact from the bench, with Michael Milne, Nick Timoney, and Jack Crowley all standout performers for Ireland on the night.
Milne and Timoney were both try scorers, while Crowley’s link-up with Sam Prendergast has led to growing feeling that the “either or” question between the two fly-halves may in fact be answered with “both.”
Though most have hailed the impact of Ireland’s substitutes as a rare highlight from a night to forget in Paris, Tommy Bowe is worried even that may be a false dawn.
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Tommy Bowe questions impact of Irish subs against France
5 February 2026; Michael Milne, left, and Rónan Kelleher of Ireland during the Guinness 6 Nations Rugby Championship match between France and Ireland at Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Tommy Bowe and Donncha O’Callaghan assessed the standing of the Irish rugby team after their battering at the hands of France last Thursday in Paris.
The pair spoke on their podcast The Dressing Room this week, with O’Callaghan hailing the impact of the subs as one of the few shining lights from the Stade de France.
However, Bowe cast doubt on even that aspect, saying that he felt the impact from Milne, Timoney, and co. had been amplified by the tiredness of the French team.
Donncha O’Callaghan:Â “I think there’s guys that put their hands up when they came on. I was really impressed with Nick Timoney, I thought he was urgent. Milne, to be fair, if you look at his try, he’s plenty about it. I think [Andy Farrell] needs to rattle the cage a little bit…”
Tommy Bowe:Â “Do you think the game was over, though? They came on and they made an impact. You think of James Ryan’s tackle, when he hits Jalibert. It’s one of those marginal ones that is just so tight that it probably should be a penalty against, he knows exactly what he’s doing but he times it and nails Jalibert. Do you think that, at that stage, he came on and showed a bit of intent – which is exactly what Andy Farrell was looking for, we didn’t see enough in the first half – but at the same time, the game was over at that stage. France had gone down to third gear, really, at that stage.”
[…]
O’Callaghan:Â “If you play well, you deserve to be rewarded.”
Bowe would also contend that he felt Farrell should not fall into a trap of making wholesale changes for the game against Italy, suggesting it could prove to be a very risky tactic by the Ireland head coach.
“It’s one disappointing game,” Bowe said.
“You look at how Ireland XV got on against England XV. They lost 52-14. Ireland U20s lost 50-21.
“Andy Farrell must be looking here thinking, ‘We ain’t got much coming up behind now. If we make a couple of changes now and that doesn’t go well this weekend, what do you do? Do you go back to the original guys?'”
The situation with Ireland feels especially precarious at the moment, and Andy Farrell has some big decisions ahead when he names his team to face Italy on Thursday afternoon.
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