Ireland can visit Paris with spring in their step

The first trophy presentation of the 2014 Six Nations Championship took place at Twickenham yesterday when England captain Chris Robshaw accepted the Triple Crown on behalf of his side.

It was a cracking game with the English crowd in raptures with the strides made by this emerging side since that dismal implosion in Cardiff last season.

Yet the possibility of the English players repeating that experience next weekend was all but blown away by events elsewhere over the weekend.