TEST rookie Tom Wood experienced the pain of defeat for the first time as England’s Grand Slam bid was crushed by Ireland and admitted: “It felt like I’d had my heart ripped out.”
The Northampton flanker was one of the finds of the tournament, a real success story in the back row of an England side that won the RBS 6 Nations title for the first time in eight years.
But that achievement counted for little and the medals, collected on Saturday night before the official dinner in Dublin, were scant consolation after England had been thumped 24-8.
Wood excelled in England’s victories over Wales, Italy, France and Scotland but Martin Johnson’s young side crumbled in the face of a relentless Irish onslaught.
“It pretty much felt like I’d had my heart ripped out because the Grand Slam was there for us and we just weren’t good enough,” said 24-year-old Wood.
“We didn’t come here for scars and lessons; we came here for a Grand Slam but we got it wrong and it’s a bitter pill to swallow.
“We got caught cold really which is pretty unacceptable at this level against a quality team like that. They were under a lot of pressure but fair play to them, they came out and delivered.
“Individually we weren’t good enough; collectively we weren’t good enough – and we have to take that on the chin. It is really disappointing to have done all the hard work, to have played well for the most part and ground out some good wins, then come over here and just let it slip with relative ease.
“We were never really in that game and that’s what hurts the most. We didn’t give ourselves a chance.
“I would imagine we will remember this game more than the four victories. The losses hurt and you remember the mistakes you made more than the things you did well, the tries and the positives. We will have to learn from it because we will have another chance at some stage and we owe them one now.”
England were outplayed in every facet of the game at the Aviva Stadium and left shellshocked by an Ireland side who tore into them from the start.
It was a brutal lesson for England’s young team about the intensity an international team can produce if they are desperate and hungry enough.
“It felt like we were rabbits in the headlights.
“We just couldn’t stop their momentum. We know we have to be better,” Wood said.
England cannot afford to wallow in the frustration of the defeat but must, however difficult it may be, turn these emotions into a driving force.
The squad need look no further than the likes of Johnson, Mike Tindall and Jonny Wilkinson for inspiration. They all experienced multiple Grand Slam failures before sealing the deal in 2003.
“This will hurt for a long time,” said England’s fly-half Toby Flood.
“Sometimes it is the darkest and difficult moments that bring you together. We will have to use this as a catalyst to drive us forward.”
England play three warm-up matches in August, including a return trip to Dublin, but their next full-blown Test will be against Argentina in the opening round of World Cup matches on September 10.
“It will be hard to swallow for a few days,” said scrum-half Ben Youngs, who described his own performance as that of an “idiot”.
“We are a strong unit and we will come back better from this, I guarantee that.
“We got completely dominated by a good Irish team and there is a lot to work on between now and the World Cup. I am completely gutted we lost but hopefully it will prove to not be a bad thing.
“I will work personally very hard to make sure it never happens again.”
COLLATED SUMMARIES RBS Six Nations France (11) 28. Tries: Nallet 2, Clerc. Cons: Parra 2. Pens: Parra 3. Wales (3) 9. Pens: Hook 3. Att: 79,798 Ireland (17) 24. Tries: Bowe, B. O’Driscoll. Cons: Sexton. Pens: Sexton 4. England (3) 8. Tries: Thompson. Pens: Flood. Att: 51,000 Scotland (6) 21. Tries: De Luca, Walker. Cons: Paterson. Pens: Paterson 3. Italy (8) 8. Tries: Masi. Pens: Bergamasco. Att: 42,464
