Paris: France were left to reflect on the "feeling of defeat" after a 17-17 draw at home to Ireland ended their Six Nations grand slam hopes on Sunday, manager Philippe Saint Andre said.

Les Bleus gave away two tries in the first half and trailed 17-6 at half-time before mounting a fightback.

"There was a feeling of defeat, not that of a draw in the dressing room," Saint Andre told a news conference.

France are second in the standings behind Wales, the only team still in position to achieve a grand slam after winning three out of three.

Captain Thierry Dusautoir said France should have won a game they dominated, at least in terms of possession.

Clumsy pass

"The win was within our grasp," he told reporters. "But when you give away so many points you just get what you deserve."

Tommy Bowe scored his first try after he intercepted a clumsy pass by Aurelien Rougerie and touched down for the second time after France lost a routine ball in the ruck.

"When you give away 10 points, it's really hard to win the match against Ireland, who defended very well and bothered us with their umbrella defence," said Saint Andre.

The former France winger, however, was proud of his players, saying they showed great character to come back into the game. "At 17-6 I asked the players to be more direct because it had started to rain and it was a bit like Irish weather out there," he said."We had ambitions, a desire to go forward, but at the highest level, you have to be much more precise."

France host England next Sunday and Ireland take on Scotland on Saturday.

Same squad: Keeping faith

France are to keep faith with the same squad for their next Six Nations match with England, after this weekend's battling draw against Ireland, coach Philippe Saint-Andre said yesterday.

Saint-Andre announced an unchanged 23-man squad to the one picked for Sunday's rescheduled match at the Stade de France, describing the game as their "most successful" of the tournament after coming back from a first-half deficit to 17-17.

French coaches decided not to recall Biarritz scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili, who suffered a back problem early last month but has since shined in his return to club rugby.

— AFP