Dara Smith-Naughton

Off the ball breakfast.

Hello there, I'm Dara Smith-Nocton and you're very welcome to a special edition of Rugby Daily here from Clermont-Ferrand.

We're now in the aftermath of a disappointing night in the Women's Six Nations for Ireland.

The French ran out eventual 26-7 winners in the Stade Marcel Michelin following a dominant second half performance.

Ireland will very much rue their misfortune in the first half as the TMO disallowed three Irish tries in the opening 30 minutes.

In this episode we'll be hearing from Ireland head coach Scott Beeman, captain Aaron King and outside centre Aoife Dalton as they all spoke in the immediate aftermath of the game.

Rugby on off the ball is with thanks to Bank of Ireland.

Hashtag never stop competing.

First up, let's hear from head coach Scott Beeman.

He summed up his own thoughts around Ireland's performance and expressed his pride in his side showing in a packed out French cauldron.

I was informed that every available ticket was sold for last night's fixture, with the official attendance totalled at around 17,000.

Fine margins.

That was the tale of the tape, unfortunately, last night.

We'll be hearing a bit more from Scott Beeman in a moment, but first, let's get the thoughts of Ireland captain Aaron King.

At just 22 years old Erin is in her first season as captain of the national team and in what was her first ever Six Nations game away in France.

She spoke about the impact of the crowd in Clermont and some of the positives that can be taken from last night's performance.

Erin, I suppose the scoreboard at the end, if you weren't to watch the game, you wouldn't think it was such a two-sided game.

It does really feel like a big missed opportunity, doesn't it, for Ireland?

You've come across quite positive, is that the mood in the dressing room that even though we didn't get the result on the night that there's something to build off here going forward?

Despite the many positives to take from last night's performance, it is yet another competitive loss to this French side and with the group's desire to break into that top two in the Six Nations, I asked head coach Scott Beaman whether he felt this result was a bit of a setback for this team.