Conor Murray: Why England shouldn't 'mourn' Grand Slam loss

England host Ireland on Saturday for a blockbuster encounter at Allianz Stadium, to kick off the third consecutive week of Six Nations action. Legendary former Ireland scrum half Conor Murray expressed how England can't afford to 'mourn' their extinguished Grand Slam dream, as they must turn all their attention toward an Ireland side that is steadily returning to form.

"It’s tough, you’re down. I’ve been there." Murray said to BetVictor Online Casino. "England will be down, especially the way they played. It’s not about mourning it. It'll be tough for a couple of days and then the best way to get over it is to forget about it and pick up the pieces as quickly as you can and refocus.

"The captain [Maro Itoje} is really important this week, for refocusing the English players, to make sure no one is feeling sorry for themselves. You're playing Ireland at the weekend; it's a huge game. Get up for that. I can guarantee you, they might not have been talking about the Grand Slam, but there were players dreaming of it. Now that's gone, you've got to refocus and get a new dream, and that's a championship."

England and Ireland enter this Saturday's match in polarising positions. An in-form England team were dejected to see their 12 match winning streak finally snapped by Scotland this past weekend, whilst an Ireland side labelled as 'transitional', continue to click through the gears with a win over Italy. Murray expressed how Ireland remain the underdogs, with the must-win pressures set upon English shoulders.

"The stakes are higher for England, especially after the Scotland game." The Munster legend explained. "I think it's a completely different fixture now for both sides. Ireland are trying to break down the door in terms of performance and get a pretty decent performance together and show what they're capable of.

"Then England; I've been in situations like that where you have a good team and you win your first game and then all the talk is Grand Slam. It's all Grand Slam. Within your group, you're trying to temper that down as much as you can or not pay attention to it but it does slip in. Now they've got to refocus as they know the Grand Slam is gone.

"England will be hurting because they were obviously expected to go and win that game at Murrayfield. But they're still absolutely in with a shout in the Six Nations. England can map their way through this now. If they get a win and look after the game after that, and then they go to France on the last day, there's a massive chance of a championship decider. Two defeats for whoever loses and it’s hard to pick yourself up from that one. It's a huge game."

England's latest defeat to Scotland marks the fifth defeat in six matches against Scotland, as Gregor Townsend's men successfully brought the heralded trophy back North of the border. Murray shared how he was stunned by the result, given how underwhelming Scotland were in their Six Nations opening round defeat to Italy. The former scrum half added how the Scots simply have England's number.

"I thought England would have too much and be too strong for Scotland given their form of late, and genuinely I think they still have it. They've been really strong for the past season or two. They’ve been working on this game plan, and they’ve been looking like a really strong outfit.

"Then Scotland came along! You worry about them in terms of consistency. You have to ask yourself: how can they play like that?! Obviously, we know all about the motivation and the emotion of it, but it must be terribly frustrating for Gregor [Townsend] to lose against Italy.

"I know the way Scotland plays and they want to play an expansive game and move the ball. They couldn't do that against Italy. I said I thought England would win, but then Scotland at home against England with a dry ball, and with all the history and five wins out of six... Scotland are a bogey team for England, especially up in Edinburgh."

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