Lessons from English defeat leave us in better place

The possibility of a Grand Slam may have come and gone but the lessons learned and confidence gained from our defensive display against England should leave us in a better place.

Anytime you lose a close game like that it’s great to have a home game up next — especially when it’s against the Italians, who are staring down the barrel of a wooden spoon after their last-minute defeat to the Scots.

Ireland went to London with a lot of momentum following two home wins. Those victories were built around a pragmatic game plan of rock-solid defending, a dominant set-piece and having conceded an average of seven penalties in the previous five matches under Joe Schmidt.