Ireland coach Andy Farrell says his players have been left “gutted” by the postponement of Saturday’s Six Nations game against France.
The Paris encounter has become the third of this season’s men’s Six Nations matches to be called off because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“The reaction of the players when we’ve come off the back of a good morning’s work was one of deflation,” he said.
Italy’s games in Ireland and at home to England have already been postponed.
“Yeah, gutted,” added Farrell, who is in his first season as Ireland coach after taking over from Joe Schmidt.
“We’ve built up for a couple of weeks on the back of a bitter disappointment [against England].
“We were looking forward to the week ahead. We’re disappointed that it’s not going ahead but at the same time we fully understand.
“There’s nothing you can do. You can only control the controllables.”
With the Six Nations cut short, Ireland’s players will now head back to their provinces although it remains to be whether there is further disruption to the European club and Pro14 campaigns over the coming weeks amid the coronavirus concerns.
Ireland will have a summer Test series in Australia before attempts will be made to finish the Six Nations in the autumn.
“Some teams schedule four [games] but we schedule three in November so we’ve got a window and we’re very open to that,” added Farrell.
“We’re more than [still] in it [the Six Nations]. We’re a team that’s still in control of its own destiny so it’s not a bad place to be.”
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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