Six Nations 2026: Ireland’s Joe McCarthy admits French penalty was ‘bad judgment on my part’

Irish second-row Joe McCarthy insists the team retains “a lot of belief” despite a crushing Six Nations loss to France last week.

Andy Farrell’s side’s hopes of reclaiming the title were dramatically diminished after leaving the Stade de France empty-handed following a 36-14 loss to the defending champions.

With pressure mounting for implementation ahead of Italy’s visit to Dublin on Saturday (14:10 GMT), McCarthy says Ireland is determined to issue an emphatic response to last week’s misery in Paris.

“When you suffer a big enough loss like that, you certainly didn’t do some things right,” said the Leinster striker, who admitted Ireland were guilty of “double mistakes”.

“It was a tough pill to swallow and it was a big chance for France to start the Six Nations, but you don’t get a second chance.

“It was a difficult review but we are focused on improving. There is still a lot of confidence in the group.”

McCarthy was man of the match in Ireland’s 38-17 win over France in Marseille in 2024, but has been guilty of ill-discipline in the two matches since.

During last year’s defeat in Dublin, he was shown a yellow card for what attacking coach Andrew Goodman later described as a “stupid penalty” when he cleared Thomas Ramos, leading to France’s opening try.

Last week, he gifted France a penalty in front of the Irish post when Mikael Gaillard cut in from the side, allowing the hosts to extend their three-point lead to 15-0.

“It was a poor penalty from me, which could have been avoided for sure,” said the 24-year-old, who made his British and Irish Lions Test debut last summer.

“They’re the ones you don’t want to give up. I was trying to make an impact or tackle and I mistimed it and tried to pull away, but it was just a bad penalty and I gave them three points.”

“It was something I didn’t want to do but it was poor judgment on my part. The pressure is on you and they’re on top of you, you’re trying to stop it but I definitely could have avoided it.”