John Fogarty: Ireland scrum was 'rattled' by England in 2022

That game was the side’s first ‘statement’ win away from home under Andy Farrell. It kept them on the heels of a French team that bettered them in Paris the month before and yet it was hairier than the bald scoreline claims.

LESSONS LEARNED; National scrum coach John Fogarty poses for portrait after an Ireland rugby media conference at the Sport Ireland Campus Conference Centre in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Record winning margins should leave scar tissue. It goes without saying.

That Ireland’s historic 17-point defeat of England in Twickenham two years ago should still rankle on this side of the Irish Sea? Well, that’s more of an oddity.