Next ball.

Ireland’s unbeaten run in the Six Nations finally came to an end yesterday following a narrow defeat to England in Twickenham.

The men in green were leading with less than two minutes left on the clock before Marcus Smith stepped up with a drop goal in the red to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for the Red Rose.

Ireland were unlucky with an early injury to Calvin Nash having gone with a 6-2 split on the bench, and can still win the championship with victory over Scotland on the final day, but no doubt this one will sting for Andy Farrell’s side.

But in typical Farrell fashion, he had some wise words for his players following yesterday’s surprise defeat, with scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park revealing that the group were told to congratulate England, move on, and get ready for Scotland.

“We’ve thrown a lot into this championship and we were pretty keen to go after the Grand Slam,” he said.

“That’s gone now but there’s still plenty to play for, thankfully.

“It’s massive, man. I mean we were able to get it done last year in front of our friends and family and home supporters, which means a huge amount.

“There will be that same drive next weekend for sure.

“Faz (Farrell) has already said to us that we’ve got to dust ourselves down, congratulate England, and just get ready for Scotland.”