By Grainne McGuinness and Shaun Cronin

Rob Kearney said that Ireland were hugely disappointed after this evening’s 21-10 defeat to England in Twickenham, but felt that ‘maybe the gap wasn’t as big as the scoreboard suggested’.

The Leinster back wasn’t looking for excuses for the defeat, insisting the team hadn’t been remotely affected by what was seen as mind games by England boss Eddie Jones.

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“We’re so used to all this noise going on in the background that it has absolutely no affect on the 80 minutes,” he said.

He was also reluctant to say much about a controversial incident involving England’s Mike Brown.

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Mike Brown you absolute scumbag #ENGvIRE https://t.co/8rmK7DhswZ

— Mary Mc Intyre (@Mc1988) February 27, 2016

Kearney said the margins between winning and losing were fractional, with more than one near-miss opportunity for Ireland to score in the second half.

The minimum target for the side was to complete the tournament with two victories, against Italy and Scotland, and accept that this was a period of readjustment for the team.

“You can’t always be riding the crest of a wave, there are times of transition and perhaps we are in one.”