A knot in the stomach and a boulder beside us...

THEY dragged their legs wearily out of Lansdowne Road, an all-too-familiar knot embedded in the gut. Red eyes betrayed the ones who were unable to hide their emotions, while others made weak jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood.

As ever, it had been a wonderful occasion, the atmosphere surpassing that of Twickenham 2000 and Cardiff 2002, while the match itself was crammed full of incident and intrigue.

The papers, both Irish and English would lavish praise in the morning, what a courageous team, what wonderful fans, what a thrilling contest but, at 5pm yesterday, what did it matter? There is a story in Greek mythology of a prince, Sisyphus, who betrayed the secrets of the gods and was severely punished by the god of the underworld, Hades.