With the pressure of trying to claim only Ireland's third Grand Slam in their history you could forgive some of the Irish players for letting the butterflies get the better of them last Saturday in Twickenham.
But speaking to Ulster Rugby seven try wonder Jacob Stockdale revealed that the opposite was true, claiming that the Grand Slam decider was the least nervous he had been of all the matches in this years Six Nations:
Funny enough it was probably the least nervous I was for all the games, there was a nervous excitement a feeling that we were really well prepared and we were really ready for the game so yeah that definitely helped.
Ulster team mate Iain Henderson was also interviewed by Ulster Rugby and reinforced Stockdale's remarks about how well Ireland had prepared for final game of the tournament:
I think we just treated it as another game, I think everyone was delighted after the Scotland game to win the championship but that wasn't enough for the squad. I think everyone had it pretty clear cut in their minds what they wanted to do and what it was going to take with the attitude we had to lead out in Twickenham with and everyone built towards that from the minute after Scotland.
The calmness around the camp is indicative of the amount of work Schmidt puts into the preparation of each game and it's a wholly positive sign that Ireland players approach these games with assuredness over anxiety.
