No excuses, just regrets

It is hard to know which is worse: the fact that Ireland will have to stew over this for three whole months or the realisation that the time for introspection will end with a three-Test summer tour to, of all places, New Zealand.

The thought is a sobering one.

The Kiwis have played host to the Irish nine times since the first official visit in 1976 and – as if we didn’t already know – they have won every one. The last meeting was a 66-28 defeat for the tourists in 2010 and it was a scoreline that hardly flattered the now world champions.