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Ireland second row Joe McCarthy insists the squad retain “a lot of belief” despite last week’s crushing Six Nations loss to France. <\/b><\/p>\n
Andy Farrell’s side’s hopes of reclaiming the title were significantly dented after leaving Stade de France empty-handed following the 36-14 defeat by the holders.<\/p>\n
With the pressure to deliver having intensified before Italy’s visit to Dublin on Saturday (14:10 GMT), McCarthy says Ireland are determined to issue an emphatic response to last week’s misery in Paris.<\/p>\n
“When you get a big enough loss like that you definitely haven’t done a few things right,” said the Leinster forward, who admitted Ireland were guilty of “compounding errors”. <\/p>\n
“It was a tough pill to swallow and it was a big opportunity to start the Six Nations, but you don’t get a second chance.<\/p>\n
“It was a tough review but we are focused on getting better. There is still a lot of belief in the group.”<\/p>\n
McCarthy was the player of the match in Ireland’s 38-17 win over France in Marseille in 2024, but he has been guilty of ill-discipline in the two meetings since.<\/p>\n
During last year’s defeat in Dublin, he was shown a yellow card for what attack coach Andrew Goodman later called a “stupid penalty” when he pulled back Thomas Ramos off the ball, leading to France’s opening try.<\/p>\n
Last week, he gifted France a penalty in front of the Irish posts when he barged into Mickael Guillard from the side, allowing the hosts to stretch their lead by three points to 15-0. <\/p>\n
“It was a poor penalty from me, definitely avoidable,” said the 24-year-old, who made his British and Irish Lions Test debut last summer.<\/p>\n
“They’re the ones you don’t want to give away. I was trying to make an impact or make a tackle and I got the timing wrong and tried to pull out, but it was just a poor penalty and it gave them three points.<\/p>\n
“It was something I didn’t want to be doing but it was poor judgement from me. The pressure’s on you and they’re on top of you, you’re trying to stop it but I definitely could have avoided that one.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n