The centrality and importance of the Grand Slam in the Six Nations has, on many occasions down the years, provided us with a uniquely rugby-ish spectacle - namely, that of the player with a face like a smacked arse hoisting a trophy above his shoulders.
No country has performed this strange ritual more than England.
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Six Nations history is littered with examples of England players trudging out with glum faces to pick up their gong before slipping down the dressing room, leaving the lap of honour to their opponents. Twice has Lansdowne Road been the venue for this spectacle - in 2001 and 2011.
Mike Catt has been there before, playing on England teams that were chasing Grand Slams only to get knocked back. In 2000 and 2001, they made do with the championship. In 1999, even that was ripped off them.
Catt - a World Cup winner in 2003, a Grand Slam winner in 1995, and a member of Stuart Lancaster's coaching team from 2012 to 2015 - spoke to Balls.ie today.
Given their playing resources, the English rugby public tends not to explode in ecstasy for a mere championship win. Anything shy of a Grand Slam will be greeted with a shrug.
I think the Grand Slam is the only one really that they're going to celebrate. That's what you get for playing with England. The expectation is very high.
Fair play to the guys, they've bounced back very well from the (World Cup) disappointment and performed very, very well against Wales for seventy minutes of the game.
Because the Celtic Fringe is atavistically ill-disposed to feeling too many pangs of sympathy for England, it is often overlooked that, during Catt's time on the coaching staff, the English finished second in the Six Nations four years running.
Ireland eked past them in excruciatingly tight finishes. Catt sees the agony as being part of a process.
Well, because they were decided on points difference, especially last year, you're talking about one try. That's the margins. It's such small margins.
But it's a natural development of a side to go through these lessons - of a good side, a young side that's learning international rugby. You've got your Billy Vunipolas and your Owen Farrells who've taken part in numerous finals and numerous big games now and it's taken them three or four years to discover what it's all about. Any successful team has to go through these failings, or lessons learned, to get better.
Last week's rugby pages in the UK were filled with rumours about how the England internationals on the Harlequins side killed Stuart Lancaster's chances of replacing Conor O'Shea.
How does Catt regard the way in which the mood has swung against Lancaster?
I don't read the press. They've got jobs to do, we understand that. But if' you're in a winning environment, you have to win.
If you win a World Cup, none of the stories get out, nobody bitches and moans, nobody slates you - well, the odd arsehole would - but there you go, that's happened, that's life. If Eddie starts losing games, there's no doubt that'll happen.
With regard to Ireland's retreat from the business end this year, Catt attributes that to the ruinous injury crisis. Once the front rank stars return, Ireland should be able to mount a serious tilt at the title next year. And he foresees his former colleague Andy Farrell - whose appointment was greeted with some diffidence over here - making a positive impact.
And he foresees his former colleague Andy Farrell - whose appointment was greeted with some diffidence over here - making a positive impact.
His man management is exceptionally good. He's done it all himself. He totally understands what players feel. And he's able to transmit that across as well. And he's a good guy who just wants to win. That's the reason he became Man of Steel twice and captained Great Britain at the age of eighteen. It's cos he's passionate. And he'll bring that passion and extra little boost that Ireland might need.
It is now obligatory to ask all members of the 2001 Lions tour about their recollection of the famous Rumble in the Oz dressing room, in which the Leicester Lip got his lip burst and his pride hurt by Clontarf's favourite son.
What does he remember about the O'Driscoll-Healey fight?
You'll have to ask Brian about that.
All I know is that Healey got his head kicked in and that was the best thing that could have happened on that tour.
There was no sense of English solidarity there so?
No, not with Austin. There never has been... I'm joking by the way... But, no there never has been. Never has been.
Listen to the full interview with Mike Catt on the Racket.
