Ireland suffered a 32-20 loss against a superior English outfit in the Aviva Stadium and as far as head coach Joe Schmidt was concerned, it was not a shock result but more a 'reality check.'
The Guinness Six Nations campaign starts with a failed Grand Slam defence. "This performance was not what we have come to expect from each other and this group of players," explained captain Rory Best post-match. It was a sentiment shared by Schmidt.
"It is really disappointing, it is not too dissimilar to when we got beaten by the All Blacks. We kind of got beaten up and beaten. We kind of got beaten up again today."
The disappointment is clear in Joe Schmidt's voice post match.
He admits that today was definitely his most disappointing day in the Aviva Stadium.#IREvENG #VMTVRugby #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/z2nMs5V4pN
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 2, 2019
Ireland do have the chance to turn the mood next week, with a trip to Scotland on Saturday.
