Shattered Ireland regroup for Italy with Six Nations title hopes out of their hands

Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby said his side "have to be better when we're down to 14 men". They lost two players, Joe McCarthy and Calvin Nash, to yellow cards against France. 

Simon Easterby said his players will be "disappointed with certain elements" of their performance against France. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Six Nations: Ireland 27 France 42

Now comes the rebuild. The Ireland management have begun their effort to coax a shattered squad back to maximum readiness for their final assignment in Rome this Saturday but there is an acknowledgement their demolition by a rampant France side has left them with a sizeable challenge.