Ireland coach Andy Farrell sticks the knife into squad after shock Scotland defeat

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Ireland defence coach Andy Farrell has slated his side after their defeat to Scotland

Ireland have conceded an average of just one per match over the last four seasons in the championship and their porousness in Murrayfield concerned Farrell ahead of this weekend’s game in Italy.

“Every single time we get an opportunity to defend, we should love it, and we didn’t,” said the Ireland defence coach.

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“We need to enjoy our defence this weekend against Italy because if we don’t, the Italians are going to be hard work for us. We’ve got to apply ourselves on the Italians and we need to get that appetite consistently higher this weekend.”

Scotland stand-off Finn Russell has been cleared to play in Sunday’s game against France after making a full recovery from a head injury.

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Ireland were beaten by Scotland in their opening Six Nations game on Saturday

The 24-year-old was taken off early in the second half at Murrayfield after a collision with Robbie Henshaw.

He returned after a head injury assessment and has since passed a final assessment to clear him to train this week.

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