The girls will have felt hurt and disappointed in the dressing room after losing at home by so much to France, but they always knew it was going to be a difficult task.

They have to be truthful with each other and make sure they make improvements every single week.

And while it might seem a strange thing to say after losing by 50 points to 14 players, I thought this was an improved Irish performance from the loss a week earlier.

They were too passive against Wales but we saw a bit of fight and hunger on Saturday, which was encouraging to see. It was heartening to see that they had addressed certain areas and improved.

They had a clear maul policy, they stopped some of the French press and came off the line well to meet the French, particularly in the first half.

On her first Six Nations start, Dannah O'Brien was not fazed by French dominance and used her kicking game really well. She has a long boot on her got some good hang time on her restarts. She was really calm under pressure.

It was also an improved Irish performance in terms of defence and we saw some Irish attack with multi-phase play. Djougang and Haney locked out the scrum and won a few scrum penalties. Those things were all positives.

The French will have seen how much change Wales got from our maul, they were opting for scrum and maul all the time, but it was a different story this time because France could see we had strengthened this area.

When faced with the choice of scrum or lineout, they took the lineout because we had planted a seed of doubt that our scrum was locked and stronger.

There were no mitigating factors in Deshayes' red card because she went high with the head and neck, but France used the red to their advantage.

Having a player less actually suited France because they could run the ball then and utilise the space out wide.

Ireland need to understand how to use the extra player to their benefit in situations when playing against 14 players.

France were a forward down, so then you should take a scrum more, take a tap and go just to suck in the forward pack a bit more.

The French were smarter when we lost Deely to the sin-bin for the last 10 minutes. They knew we had no fullback so they kicked in behind and scored two tries when it was 14 v 14.

That was an example of an experienced team making use of extra space and knowing what to do. It was good game management.

It was soul destroying at times when Irish players were taking quick taps and going on their own when it wasn't on. You have to be cleverer in how you use the ball. Kick to the corner, try to secure the ball and drive it over instead of getting white line fever.

On numerous times a player got isolated with others around them not knowing what was going on. That's something they can work on for the next game.

The French players are a mix of pro and semi-pro and are almost five years further down the road in terms of professional sport, so Ireland have to be realistic about what they can achieve in this Championship.

All they can do is what they are doing - identify areas where they can make small improvements week on week.

They have to be truthful with each other about the individual errors because the lack of concentration and focus set them back at times.

Italy a must-win

Ireland have to target the next game as must-win but Italy are a team on the rise. They restricted France to a 22-12 win, albeit in difficult playing conditions.

They will take positives from that, though a 68-5 defeat by England on Sunday is bound to have affected confidence levels.

Italy at home are a different beast. They get behind their nation which is fantastic to see. They play with a lot of passion.

It will not be an easy win for Ireland by any means. It will be one of the closest battles of the Championship but Ireland have to target it if are to get something out of this Championship.