Thorns of red roses tear heart out of Irish

ONE word summed up yesterday’s crushing Six Nations encounter between Ireland and England: ouch.

The red roses on the shirts of the English might as well have sprouted thorns and ripped the soul of the Irish team to shreds. Bodies were battered, pride was pummelled and spirits were shattered.

Noses bled not half as much as the hearts that pounded with the strain of exertion and the pain of defeat. This was not the ending expected to a fairytale in the making since 1948. We'd seen off Scotland; whacked the Welsh; finished the French; annihilated the Italians, and surely we could eliminate the English or at least scare the living daylights out of them trying.