Leinster laments and Jonny’s farewell take back seat as Ross bids to refocus on the task in hand

The shadow of the Six Nations creeps and grows, but there’s something a little different this time around. For once, it’s not all consuming. Mike Ross sits in front of you, trying to focus on what lies ahead but the tentacles of the recent past visibly toy with his thoughts.

With Leinster gone at the pool stages of the Heineken Cup for the first time since he joined from Harlequins in 2009, and with Jonny Sexton gone where so few Irish men have gone before, to ignore what’s after happening and to purely focus on the Welsh test is to live a lie.