Around 15 minutes after the final whistle at Stade Marcel-Michelin last night, the Irish players did their usual lap of the stadium to pay some thanks to the pockets of green supporters who had made the awkward journey to Clermont-Ferrand.
The 26-7 scoreline hadn't done justice to what was a thrilling Test match, fitting for one of the great French rugby grounds, and even a quarter of an hour on from the final whistle on a warm night in central France, the stands were still half-full with punters not wishing to go home.
As the Irish players rounded the corner and started making their way back up the touchline on then near side of the pitch, the noise grew out of nowhere as the French supports left in the ground rose to their feet and applauded the visitors off the pitch.
This time of year, the "knowledgeable crowd" gag is usually reserved for Augusta National or the Crucible, but Stade Marcel-Michelin would be high up on the list of rugby venues which could be afforded that compliment.
They know their rugby in Clermont, and they had been treated to what Ireland head coach Scott Bemand described as "a proper Test match".
As they did against Ireland at the World Cup last year, and as they also did to Italy and Wales in the opening rounds, the French found another gear in the second half to fend off what had been a phenomenal Irish effort. Deja vu, all over again.
Of course, even that second have surge may not have been enough had Ireland been able to take their chances in the opening half. Bemand’s side crossed the line on five separate occasions in the first 40 minutes, and only had seven points to show for their efforts, with three tries ruled out by the TMO, and another held up.
The Irish players will face a difficult review when they look back on how some of those scores were missed, but the hosts also deserve enormous credit for the ferocity of their defensive efforts, particularly in the 22 where they prevented an Irish player grounding the ball over the line on three separate occasions.
The statistics give an illustration of their defensive efforts; Ireland made 167 carries in Clermont last night, but France had 240 tackles, with Irish players continually met at the gainline by double-tackles.
All eight of the starting French forwards had a double-digit tackle count, with six of them making 19 or more, and flanker Axelle Berthoumieu topping the chart with 25, despite playing only 49 minutes.
"We know we're close, but when you play these top teams it just comes down to fine margins and us not being able to convert at least one of them scores in the first half just came back to bite us a bit," Ireland centre Aoife Dalton said.
"We would have went in 12 or 14-7 up at halftime and then the second half they just kind of got away from us.
"They're massively physical, and their offloading game, when you play these top teams you have to be on it and giving them one easy opportunity you can see what happens."
For Dalton, who made 10 tackles and 11 carries across the 80 minutes, it was another case of "what if" against the French, who Ireland haven’t beaten since 2017.
"We just felt like we had a performance in us and if we could get our game going in a fast start we'd just be able to test them and hopefully go to level 80. But yeah, we just couldn't do it," she added.
"There's huge positives though for us; It's just more like, how do we convert them points in the first half? I think it would have been possibly a different story if we maybe got even one score.
With their two toughest games, away to England and France, now behind them, there is still room for Ireland to finish the campaign on a high, ahead of home games against Wales and Scotland to come in May after a much-needed break this weekend.
"We don't go into our shells anymore, we thrive off that energy..."
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) April 26, 2026
Captain Erin King and head coach Scott Bemand react to Ireland's Women's Six Nations defeat to France in Clermont. 🇫🇷 ☘️ #RTERugby pic.twitter.com/7SaPVIZbRA
And the centre, who turns 23 next week, says they are determined to return from their week off with two big home wins.
"We're coming closer and closer, we just probably need to get to the stage now - I feel like we're constantly saying we're nearly there, beating a top tier nation. We just need to do it now.
"It's massive growth for us and of course there's positives to take. But yeah, it won't be an easy one to watch back.
"We're in a position now where we just want to push on. It has come in ways and I know nothing is a straight upward trajectory. There's bumps and everything in the road.
"But we'll have to learn fast from that one. We'll train a bit over the fallow week and then bring our game to Wales and Scotland," she said.
