Six Nations 2026: Improving Ireland’s discipline against France ‘starts with me’ – Caelan Doris

Improving the team’s discipline during the Six Nations “starts with me” says Ireland captain Kellan Doris as he admits he must set a better example for the team.

The discipline of Andy Farrell’s side has been a major point of discussion in the run-up to Thursday evening’s opener against France in Paris (20:10 GMT) following a tough loss to South Africa in November which resulted in four yellow and red cards.

As they attempt to reclaim the Six Nations title from France, Doris says discipline has been “right there” on the Irish’s minds during their pre-tournament preparations.

“It’s one of the main points we’ve talked about since we came to camp especially in late November where things weren’t good enough,” Doris said.

“I would have spoken to the coaches after November about me being a captain who needs to lead the team better.

“I conceded a lot of penalties in November, so it starts with me and the older players.”

Speaking after captaining the Ireland captain’s run at the Stade de France, Dorris added: “It’s very important across the board, especially with the way the game is going.

“There are more cards these days. They are more difficult in offside situations and they want to favor the attacking team, so making smart decisions there and being decisive and disciplined will be very important.

Injury-hit Ireland, who lost 42-27 to France in Dublin last year, are considered underdogs for Thursday’s match, as they were in 2024 when they traveled to Marseille and won 38-17.

But 27-year-old Dorris says he doesn’t take much inspiration from what happened two years ago.

“The internal view and perception is that there is still a lot of faith in the heart. This has increased over the past 10 days,” he said.

“We have created a playbook for greater trust and belief based on how we show up on the field as well as the connections built on it and the work that gets done outside of it as well.

“There is a very positive feeling based on how we train and how the players turn up and integrate.”