Les Bleus were beaten 15-12 during a fiercely competitive encounter with Ireland, their second defeat in three matches having lost to England on the first weekend of the tournament.

The reigning champions missed injured skipper Fabien Galthie and Laporte also bemoaned the absence of prop Pieter de Villiers and centre Tony Marsh, although he accepted the better side had won.

"Against both England and Ireland we gave too many points away," he said. "We were not able to score when we had opportunities and that is something we are going to have to work on.

"The only positive was our defence, which is the best in the 6 Nations, but we are not able to win a game at the moment."

Laporte admitted that he will now consider making changes as he looks to mould a winning team in time for the World Cup.

"We cannot win the 6 Nations any more and so we may make changes," he said. "We have got to look forward."