Ireland star Keith Earls ran in a try as the Irish side started brightly and opened up a 7-0 lead but Yachvili’s dead-eyed boot eventually saw Biarritz home.

And McGahan was under no illusions as to who were the best side on the day, saying:"Biarritz played very cleverly in the second half. Their set-piece was excellent and they kicked to the corners very well.

"They put us under a tremendous amount of pressure and shut up shop.

"We tried to defend our way back into their half which didn't give us any platform whatsoever.

"Our set-piece was a concern all afternoon. They dominated that area of the game and we had no platform to play off at all."