Ireland centre Stuart McCloskey believes the Six Nations showdown against champions France will be tough but "you can grind them down".

"What I've learnt really is that you can grind them down - there are mistakes in them," said McCloskey.

"Don't let them get the momentum and get on the front foot. You can really get into them and force mistakes."

Ireland enjoyed an impressive win over Wales last weekend, while the French had to come from behind to avoid a shock defeat by Italy.

McCloskey added: "Italy are a pretty good team. It's not a surprise that they put in such a good performance against France. It's not that the French played terribly. It's just that Italy have improved so much over the last few years.

"It's number one against two and France haven't lost in 14 games. We're obviously number one in the world and we lost against them last year away.

"I suppose it's probably the biggest game in the Six Nations. It will hopefully decide how it goes in the tournament."

McCloskey started in Cardiff on Saturday to end a seven-year wait since his last and only Six Nations appearance.

Indeed, the Ulster back has started in Ireland's last four games and has re-emerged on the international scene under coach Andy Farrell after failing to make an impact when Joe Schmidt was in charge.

"Maybe I'm a better player than I was back then. I think my game has improved. There's obviously been a lot of competition there during the years.

"Maybe I just didn't fit Joe's eye - that's in the past, not something to worry about now. I'm fairly comfortable with how to play the game now and maybe I was over-thinking a bit when I was younger.

"I think I just know the game better now than I did when I was 23, 24. I feel I have a pretty good understanding of how Andy wants us to play the game.

"I understand where I need to be and how to help the rest of the team. It's not just about how I'm playing. It's about how I get everybody else involved in the game.

"It's easy when you're coming into such a good team. We're number one in the world. We haven't lost too much over the last 24 months.

"Obviously I can still carry and I can still off-load but hopefully some of the passing game and some of the kicking game has shone through in the last two or three years, not just for Ireland but for my club."