Josh van der Flier said after the game that Ireland were “mature enough” to “right themselves” in time to face Scotland. Heartbreaking 23-22 Six Nations defeat By England.
Marcus Smith's late drop goal sealed Ireland's bid for back-to-back Grand Slam appearances in Saturday's thriller at Twickenham.
However, manager Van der Flier has no doubts that Ireland will regroup before hosting Scotland for the title.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked if this response will be a hallmark of this team.
“One of the things you realize when you ride winning is that it's not easy, but you just get used to winning and it's almost a habit.
“You're just on the right side of things. Don't panic when you're down. When you lose a match, it happens eventually, but it's very important not to lose what worked well. I think it’s important.”
“It's going to be a big test, but we're mature enough as a team at this stage to correct ourselves and realize that it's something we can control.”
England produced their best performance under head coach Steve Borthwick, surprising Ireland and denying Andy Farrell's side a record 12th successive title, but Ireland will retain the title if they beat Scotland next weekend I will do it.
In his post-match press conference, Farrell said England “deserved” victory as Borthwick's side maintained their slim hopes of winning their first Six Nations since 2020.
However, Van der Flier, who was named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2022, was forced to give England their final goal after Conor Murray kicked the ball into the stands against Twickenham after Ireland were leading with a minute remaining. Having culminated with the attack, victory felt to be in Ireland's 'hands'. Smith's final kick.
“You have to give England credit, they were very good.
“But on the other hand, what's very disappointing is that we had it figured out, but maybe just a few mistakes, a little bit of indiscipline and some moments that we could have done better.” That means there was.
“It was a close race. It's very disappointing. As I said there, it's important to recover now and we have to recover quickly because our chances of winning this week are pretty incredible.”
England were criticized for their loss to Scotland at Murrayfield and although Ireland were heavy favorites before the match, Van der Vlier insisted he was not happy with the Irish side heading to Twickenham.
“Whenever you play England, you focus on the individual, regardless of how they are playing as a team.
“They're obviously a great team. They haven't had the consistency they would have liked, but to be an Irishman and play for England at Twickenham is a big game and it couldn't have been better.” would like to play in
“I'm not saying I was happy going into the game, but it's hard to accept.''
