'We're not done yet' - Porter's parked pain and insists Ireland will raise tempo in Rome

The veteran prop admits there were learnings aplenty from the heavy defeat to France but as long as Ireland are still alive, he'll focus on task at hand

HARD HATS ON: Andrew Porter poses for a portrait during an Ireland Rugby media conference at IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Andrew Porter admitted moving on from the damaging home defeat to France is no easy task but Ireland have little choice but to lick their wounds and get on with making amends against Italy in Rome this Saturday.

The 42-27 loss to a rampant French side that ruthlessly punished a below-par Irish team at Aviva Stadium last Saturday ended hopes of a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam and loosened Ireland’s grip on their bid for a third championship in a row heading into Saturday’s final round of games. Yet while the loosehead prop promised the back-to-back champions would not go out with a whimper while there's still a chance of claiming a historic hat-trick he acknowledged France’s Dublin victory had been a difficult pill to swallow.