Eyebrows were raised during Joe Schmidt's post-match interview on Saturday when he said his Ireland squad had arrived late to Murrayfield ahead of kick-off.
It was a claim which dominated various rugby columns the country over both yesterday and this morning.
To many, it seemed Schmidt was using Ireland's tardiness as an excuse for their disjointed opening 25 minutes. For a disciplinarian of Schmidt's ilk, such a minor distraction might be considered colossal; match prep is measured to the minute, with none wasted. He and his team had lost 15 in one fell swoop.
On the flipside, he may simply have been trying to use Ireland's late arrival to the stadium as a metaphor for the on-field disorganisation which immediately followed it; late to the stadium, late to the breakdown, late to just about everything - in the first half at least. An altogether more flippant remark, then. Pens at ease.
Regardless of context, the notion that a professional sports team be blown off course by a 10 to 15-minute delay is utter horse product. Senior figures in Ireland's squad have denied its impact off-hand. Nonetheless, the head coach felt it worthy of a mention following a surprise defeat. His exact quote was as follows:
We arrived at the stadium about 10 or 15 minutes late and we were late for most things in the first half.
Be it relevant or otherwise, there remained a curiosity as to how or why Ireland were indeed late.
The answer is rather straightforward: As per RTÉ Sport, the team's Scottish police escort took them on an "alternative route" to Murrayfield. Sabotage, we hear you say! Either that or the traffic was bad.
This slight inconvenience was later exacerbated as a pipe band embarked on a procession to the pitch, leaving Schmidt and squad sat on their collective hoop for longer than intended.
A stickler for detail, Schmidt was no doubt fuming about such developments. A pipe band, however, cannot be blamed for Ireland not spotting that Scotland had three backs in their lineout for Alex Dunbar's try, or parting like the Red Sea for Stuey Hogg to forge his own procession through the Irish backline.
Let's hope all goes according to plan in Rome.
