Josh van der Flier insists Ireland focused on own game in fading title bid

Josh van der Flier expects Ireland to be “all go” for an improbable shot at snatching Guinness Six Nations glory once a thorough inquest into a deflating demolition at the hands of title rivals France is completed.

Simon Easterby’s side had dreamt of heading to Italy next weekend on the cusp of wrapping up an unprecedented third consecutive Six Nations crown.

But Ireland’s Grand Slam aspirations were emphatically extinguished on Saturday afternoon as Les Bleus propelled themselves into pole position for championship success with a crushing 42-27 victory in Dublin.

Not the result we wanted.

Congratulations @FranceRugby on a brilliant performance. pic.twitter.com/6wWiHY0Mn9

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) March 8, 2025

Following a shambolic second-half display in front on an expectant Aviva Stadium crowd, the back-to-back champions are now reliant on results elsewhere to have any chance of lifting the trophy.

England, who can now also finish above Ireland, begin away to Wales just after the full-time whistle in Rome, while table-topping France host Scotland in the final fixture of the tournament on Saturday evening.

“It’s always tricky from an emotional point of view because you’re disappointed, there is no momentum going into this week in theory,” said flanker Van der Flier.

“But the way we’ll look to do it is review the game Monday and Tuesday, get all the bad feelings, the bad emotions, the mistakes you made that sit in the back of your mind, try and think of what we’ve done wrong and how to fix it.

“You go through all of those things and then you close that book and take all the things you can improve on into the latter part of the week and just get really excited for the Italy game.

“It’s obviously the opportunity to win