Joe Schmidt rues Ireland’s missed opportunities

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has voiced his frustration at his side's inability to take their chances during their opening two Six Nations fixtures.

Ireland are currently fourth in the championship table after drawing with Wales before being narrowly beaten by France.

The deficit was just a single point in Paris but it was enough to leave Ireland’s hopes of a third title in a row in tatters , and Schmidt feels his side need to start capitalising on the opportunities they are creating.

Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he said: “We won seven line breaks to nil against Wales. That’s creating chances, allowing players to get into space and play behind the defensive line.

“We didn’t capitalise on those chances. It was the same against France and the result of it all is that we’ve only one try in two games.”

“The conditions against France were difficult, very greasy. On the flip side, France only scored one try and it came from a five-metre scrum.

“They haven’t set the world on fire either. We were well in the match in Paris and did a get a bona fide try. Unfortunately for us, the referee had already made a ruling and that happens.

“We’ve got to get past that and create other opportunities and make sure we get those points.”

Ireland are currently the lowest point and try scorers in the competition, and next up they travel to play table-toppers England at Twickenham.

Schmidt’s side are looking for a first championship win in England since 2010, he said: “They [England] were solid against Scotland, deserved the result they got, though Scotland would be frustrated after missing a chance or two.

“The longer the Italian game went, they looked to be getting a bit of a rhythm and tempo and as a result there was more pressure coming on the Italian defence.

“England will be a huge challenge and Twickenham will be a tough place to go to. With all the injuries and absentees, it certainly doesn’t help our cause.

“What we can guarantee though and what we would encourage supporters to focus on is that the players will be working incredibly hard.

“They haven’t been out of either of the two games we’ve played so far and will be looking to hit that mark and take it a little bit further to try and swing the right result our way.”