Former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan assesses the impact of Ireland's defeat to France ahead of the trip to Twickenham in The Irish Independent.
"It is very difficult to even begin to describe the feeling the Irish players would have woken up to last Sunday morning in Paris. The fatigue and tiredness would have been more draining, the knocks and bruises more painful. But most of all, a sick feeling in the pit of their stomachs, that will linger there until tomorrow's assembly for the England game.
"Root canal surgery, without the anaesthetic, would have been more appealing than beginning the long trek home to begin the autopsy on the game. With expectations being so high on the way to Paris the feeling of disappointment would have been all the more acute on the way back.
"This Irish team is now in a strange place. They had been undefeated in their previous 12 games and in the process bagged a Grand Slam, Triple Crown, wins over Argentina and South Africa, while rising to fourth in the IRB rankings. Losing is a relatively new experience for most of these players."
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