"Disappointing" - Sam Underhill acknowledges England’s failure to give Maro Itoje a memorable 100th cap

The visitors struck five tries in a ruthless display that exposed England’s lack of discipline and defensive frailties, ending a nine match home winning run under Steve Borthwick and leaving their title hopes hanging by a thread.

The occasion had been billed as a celebration of captain Maro Itoje earning his 100th cap. Instead, it became one of England’s heaviest home defeats in the championship. Ireland’s pace and precision brought three tries inside the first half hour, and 22 first-half points left the hosts chasing a game that had already slipped away.

Bath flanker Sam Underhill, who came off the bench, admitted the result stung, particularly given the milestone attached to it.

"Yeah. Do you know what, we addressed it as a team that we couldn't give him the day we wanted, that we wanted for him. He's an incredibly gracious human being. He mentioned it himself, that's sport, progress isn't linear. Those were his words. We can still celebrate what an achievement [100 caps] is.

"He's a phenomenal player, athlete, human being and leader. He carries himself with such a consistent manner. So impressive to get to 100 games anyway, let alone the way he's done it with how consistent he's been, especially the last few seasons. So yeah, it's disappointing but it doesn't take the shine off what is a phenomenal individual accomplishment."

Underhill’s words reflected a dressing room determined not to let one bruising afternoon define either their captain or their campaign. England have now lost twice in three matches, with daunting trips to Italy and France ahead, yet the flanker insisted perspective was essential.

"One hundred percent. This is a phenomenally competitive tournament and the game is always evolving, teams are always evolving. Any team you play is never the same again; stylistically, individually. Our job is to keep improving as much as we can. Even off the back of a win, you come away with a dozen things you can improve. It's no different after a loss.

"You're never as bad as people think you are and never as good as people think you are. We weren't the best team in the world four weeks ago and we're not the worst team now. We'll stick at it. Stay close as a group. I hope there are good things ahead for this team."

Summing up the mood, Underhill added: "Yeah, I mean, we're obviously disappointed with the result. We can acknowledge that, but also acknowledge that it's a part of progress sometimes, you know, progress isn't linear. And I think as a team, how we respond is more important than sometimes where you are in the sort of moment. So yeah, we'll stay tight. We'll keep improving as a squad and yeah, hopefully get to where we want to be."