Caelan Doris: It's gutting but we definitely didn't underestimate England

Marcus Smith's late drop goal saw England end Ireland's Grand Slam hopes.

GUTTED: Caelan Doris of Ireland after his side's defeat to England. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Caelan Doris insists Ireland did not underestimate England after Marcus Smith’s last gasp drop goal ended their hopes of landing back-to-back Grand Slams.

Andy Farrell’s men were strong favourites to secure the victory they needed at Twickenham to re-claim the Six Nations title and put them just one win away, against Scotland in Dublin next Saturday, from retaining their Grand Slam crown as well.

The Irish were on course for victory in London until Smith split the uprights with the last kick of the match to snatch a memorable triumph for a battling England side.

“It’s gutting the way it finished,” Doris told RTÉ Sport moments after full time.

“It was a proper test match, back and forth throughout. We definitely didn’t underestimate them, we have seen what they are capable of, we saw how well they went in the World Cup.

“We are disappointed with aspects of our game throughout, they put us under pressure which explains some of it but some of it was in our control, definitely.

“We felt they fired a lot of shots in that first half, and we were pretty content going into half time being up a couple of points.

“But they just kept going in the second half. We had a few purple patches where we got on top, but they kept battling through and it came down to the last minute.

“We relish that (the favourites tag), and we have a lot of belief in what we can do. We respected them all week and we knew what they were capable of, and they showed it today.

“We have a big week ahead, still a lot at stake next week so we are going to have to dust ourselves down quickly and get excited for that.

“It’s massively exciting to be back playing at the Aviva, playing Scotland who have gone well throughout the championship.

“It’s a big game to finish off and hopefully we can finish on a good note.”