Josh van der Flier: 'I wouldn't say this defines us'

End of an era? Van der Flier wasn’t ready to see it that way.

END OF THE ROAD: Ireland’s Josh van der Flier with his brother Johann after the game

A weird time. The club season is only now clearing its throat and yet the sense of finality after Ireland’s World Cup exit on Saturday night is all pervasive.

It’s hard for anyone to contemplate URC appointments or a crack at Europe with their provinces. Even the Six Nations feels a case of too little too soon. The wounds are too raw, the feelings of sporting grief all encompassing.