Now England must learn from misery of Ireland defeat - Daily Mail

By Lewis Moody Last updated at 1:32 AM on 20th March 2011

It was agony watching from the stands in Dublin and we have to hold our hands up and say were well beaten by the better side.

Ireland played well and England made too many errors, that's clear. We made mistakes and compounded them and it was intensely frustrating to sit and watch it happen.

Sidelined: Tindall and Moody watch on from the stands as England are soundly beaten

This England team have put so much work into the Six Nations campaign. What's important now, though, is what we learn from this defeat. In the past, this team have suffered setbacks and learned from them.

The same thing must happen this time. The key is the reaction. There were some battered bodies in the England dressing room and it will take some time for them to recover, but recover they will as we start to prepare for the pre-World Cup games.

Up for the battle: But England were second-best in Dublin

I came to terms with not playing in Dublin at the start of the week but I could see the realisation hitting Mike Tindall on Tuesday, when we were sharing the gym at Pennyhill Park.

I could see the frustration I have felt for five weeks appearing on his face, as he dealt with the reality of missing the Grand Slam game. All I could do is sympathise with him.

Martin Johnson has ensured that both Mike and I were fully involved last week, attending all the meetings, training and even sitting in the senior players' group.

It hasn't reduced my frustration and I have felt a little like a spare part but it has certainly helped Mike and me and made sure that everyone knows this Six Nations has been a real team effort.

Playing Ireland in Dublin is one of those games every player wants to be involved in so not being in an England shirt because of injury has been very hard to take.

The one big positive from missing the whole of the Six Nations is that I have been able to focus on my strength in the gym as part of my rehab and I now feel stronger than I've ever done in my career.

Up to the Six Nations, it had already been a tough year so I can now move into the end of season feeling fresh and raring to go, with eight weeks of conditioning behind me. In my body I feel a million times better than I did even at Christmas and that is a good position to be in - just very frustrating.

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