Ireland lost to France despite opponent's red card

Ireland's Amee-Leigh Costigan believes her team missed an opportunity during their Women's Six Nations loss to France. Ireland lost 27-15 in their opening match, despite France being reduced to 14 players after a red card. Gabrielle Vernier of France received a red card in the second half for a high tackle. At that moment, Ireland was trailing 17-5. Following the red card, Neve Jones scored for Ireland, making the game closer, but the team did not score again until France had returned to full strength. Costigan emphasized the need for Ireland to take advantage of such situations in the future. She said it was crucial for the team to learn how to score when the opponent is a player down. Despite the loss, she found positives in their performance and hopes to improve before their next game against Italy on March 30. Costigan expressed pride in captaining the team for the first time. She feels the squad can build on this experience and plans to focus on their strategy against Italy. "We want more and just to push on with that," she said.