Rugby-'Hurting' Ireland won't alter game-plan after England loss - O'Mahony


Reuters | Updated: 05-02-2019 17:07 IST | Created: 05-02-2019 17:07 IST
Rugby-'Hurting' Ireland won't alter game-plan after England loss - O'Mahony

Ireland may be hurting from their comprehensive 32-20 Six Nations loss to England on Saturday, but flanker Peter O'Mahony says there is no panic in the camp and no need to deviate from their game-plan. The defending champions were picked apart by England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in their first home Six Nations defeat since 2013. They now face what is likely to be a fired-up Scotland at Murrayfield this weekend.

O'Mahony said the players have accepted that they were well-beaten in their tournament opener, but said they are committed to their style of play. "We're are hurting. The Aviva is a place we haven't lost in a while," he told reporters. "You never like losing for Ireland or your club, but the Aviva is somewhere we have made a fortress.

"But the beauty of our job is that, bar the last game of the campaign, you can get back out there, train hard during the week and put it right." The loose-forward said the players believe in the plans of coach Joe Schmidt and don't feel the need to change tactics in the wake of the England defeat.

"We are not going to throw out the game-plan and start on something new. We have built our game-plan for a long time now and we certainly won't be going away from it," he said. O'Mahony said the players have owned up to their failure and are ready to put it behind them.

"We cannot hang around feeling sorry for ourselves, we must take our review on the chin and get back stuck in because there is a lot of rugby to be played between now and the end of the campaign. "We weren't happy with some of the areas of our game. Some of the strong points that we base our game around didn't fire and that is disappointing. We have to get back to the things we do well. That is what we will base our performance on this weekend." (Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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