The Irish were on the receiving end of a 43-21defeat in the World Cup quarter-finals in Melbourne.

But the RBS 6 Nations fixture list has presented them with a swift opportunity to salvage some pride.

"Paris is a daunting venue, it's a hard place to go - but our last Test match was against the French in the World Cup so to play them so early is great," said O'Sullivan.

"It's better than waiting a couple of matches before meeting them again.

"The scars of the Telstra Dome are still there, so I think it's a good time to put that game right.

"France played their best match of the World Cup and it was a different team which showed up against England a week later."