Ireland coach Declan Kidney is keen to move on from the controversial Six Nations defeat to Wales on Saturday, which thwarted Ireland’s Triple Crown and slim Championship hopes.
Ireland fell to a 19-13 defeat in the Millennium Stadium, but it could have all been so different had Mike Phillips’ try been correctly ruled out early in the second half.
The fact that Wales should not have been allowed use a new ball or that a lineout had not been properly formed were reasons why the try should not have been allowed, but Kidney is keen to move on from the controversy and prepare for Saturday’s clash with England at the Aviva Stadium.
“Our job is to prepare for the next game. It’s as simple and brutal as that,” said Kidney.
“If we keep looking at the past we’ll never get anywhere. If there’s an hour or two of that, let’s do it.
“But then we have to get on with it and then get ourselves ready for the next game.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, that’s the test. This tests the team.
“I don’t think it will be hard to get this calibre of player ready for England.”
Rory Best echoed his coach’s sentiments and while he admitted that the try had a major bearing on the eventual outcome, the hooker suggested that Ireland had plenty of chances to win the game after the try was allowed.
“There’s no doubt it was a real momentum-swinger that got their tails up. It was a big change in everyone’s mindset,” he said.
“Everyone has seen the footage and it speaks for itself.
“But we feel we had enough chances before and after the dubious decision that it shouldn’t really have mattered.”
Even though heads are down following Saturday’s defeat, Best insists that the chance to win the first Six Nations game at the Aviva Stadium and to win the last competitive game before the World Cup will give Ireland plenty of motivation against a side gunning for their first Grand Slam since 2003.
“England are the last game in the championship and our last competitive game before the World Cup,” Best added.
“England are on a great roll at the moment so it’s a real opportunity to get back to winning ways and secure our first Six Nations win at the Aviva Stadium.
“Regardless of what happened (to England) against Scotland, it’s a game that we desperately want to win.”
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