Sunday 1 March 2015 22:51, UK
England coach Stuart Lancaster believes England can still win the Six Nations despite losing to Ireland.
England were beaten 19-9 in Dublin – their first loss of the tournament – after being kicked into submission by the reigning champions, who remain on course for the Grand Slam after amassing a 10th successive victory.
Fixtures against Scotland and France complete England's Six Nations campaign and head coach Lancaster insists they are still capable of wrestling the crown from Irish hands.
"Absolutely we can still win the Six Nations. There are very few Grand Slam teams," Lancaster said.
"In the majority of years you end up with a team winning the championship that has lost one game along the way.
"We have two games at home and it's critical we get as much out of those as we can.
Absolutely we can still win the Six Nations. There are very few Grand Slam teams.
"Ireland have two games away and Wales are still in the hunt having won at the weekend. Wales against Ireland will be a big game, but we can't control that.”
Game management
Lancaster praised Ireland’s game management and pointed to a lack of discipline as a major reason for their defeat.
"The late surge showed what we can do but in the first half we struggled," added Lancaster, who was experiencing his first defeat against the Irish.
"Their try was a key moment, as was when we lost a lineout in the first period having kicked to touch instead of for goal.
"We knew this was going to be a potential banana skin as it is a very difficult place to come and win."
Lancaster, like Ireland coach Joe Schmidt a former school teacher, said he believed things were beginning to go his side's way until Robbie Henshaw and Conor Murray's masterstroke.
"Ireland play a smart game, there are different ways to skin a cat in winning a Test match," he said.
"I thought we defended their set plays well and our scrum got more dominant as the game went on. But the damage was done when they scored their try."
Lancaster defended his decision to leave Danny Cipriani on the bench even though England needed a spark of inspiration with George Ford unable to impose himself.
"I was thinking about bringing Danny on but there comes a point when you are making substitutions through the team and you feel you don't want to make too many," Lancaster said.
"It's not a reflection on our trust in Danny at all. He's a quality player but we'd already made changes in the second row, at six, nine and 12. I thought the guys who came on did well."
Indiscipline
England captain Chris Robshaw felt the visitors' indiscipline had contributed to their downfall.
"Our biggest disappointment was our discipline," he said. "When Ireland have a serious player like Jonathan Sexton who can nail goals and pin you in the corner, you don't want to give them any easy opportunities and allow them to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
"I'm not sure why it happened, but it is something that will be addressed throughout the coming week.
"We conceded some penalties due to pressure and some due to our own loss in concentration. I contributed myself as well.
"As a team you aim for under 10 penalties, that's the benchmark for the 80 minutes. If you do that you're in a good place. We gave away eight penalties in the first half and that pressure tells."
