Humphreys sure ‘different’ Ireland will face Italy

Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) performance director David Humphreys says last week’s humbling Six Nations defeat by France “has to be fuel” for the rest of the tournament.

Ireland were outclassed as they lost 36-14 in Paris, a result which led head coach Andy Farrell to criticise his team’s “lack of intensity”.

Humphreys says Ireland “didn’t perform” at Stade de France and they must an underwhelming start as motivation for the remaining four matches.

Italy, who stunned Scotland in their opener, visit Dublin on Saturday in Ireland’s second game (14:10 GMT).

“Nobody enjoyed Thursday night. Paris is a tough place to go, but what you want to do is to go and perform, and we didn’t perform,” Humphreys told BBC Sport NI.

“That’s the beauty of the Six Nations. We have a chance to go this weekend, and over the next five weeks, to really show what Irish rugby is about.

Humphreys, who won 72 Ireland caps as a player, said the IRFU entered the Six Nations with “optimism and expectation” due to the success over the past decade.

Ireland won back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024, the first of which was a Grand Slam, but slipped to third in the table last year.

It was a bruising weekend for Irish rugby as an Ireland XV were hammered 52-14 by England ‘A’ on Friday, while Ireland’s Under-20s Six Nations campaign started with a 50-21 loss to France.

“Expectation is high and it’s built off the success of this team over the past 10 or 20 years.

“We wanted better on Thursday night. For us, the disappointment and level of performance from Thursday night has to fuel the next four or five weeks.

Humphreys was speaking at the unveiling of a plaque to mark the 100th birthday of Ireland legend Jack Kyle at the Affidea Stadium in Belfast.

Kyle, who passed away in 2014, won 46 caps for Ireland and six for the British and Irish Lions as a fly-half, and is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation.

In 1948, the Belfast man helped Ireland win the Five Nations Grand Slam for the first time and in 2002 was voted the greatest ever Irish player.

When his playing career was over, Kyle worked for more than 30 years as a consultant surgeon in Chingola, Zambia.

“No matter where you go in the world of rugby, if you talk about Jack Kyle then everyone knows who he is,” Humphreys said.

“You only see snippets of players from Jack’s generation and you would love to have the coverage that we have now.