Donal Lenihan says that he feared for Ireland once he saw the very first kick-off in their Six Nations defeat to England on Saturday.
Owen Farrell started the game and a matter of minutes later the visitors had the first of their four tries at the Aviva Stadium.
Lenihan saw this and was already worried – fears that were well-founded as Ireland fell to an unexpected 32-20 defeat.
"Start with the restarts from Owen Farrell," said the former Ireland international, speaking to RTÉ Sport. "They were right on the money; in behind Devin Toner and into the 22 leaving Conor Murray with no option but to kick.
"You could see the body language and the energy of both players was at a different pitch.
"Ireland were held in a vice-like grip and it didn’t help that Murray and Jonathan Sexton were that bit off the pace.
"In a game like this you’re taken out of the comfort zone by the pressure the opposition puts on you, those things add up. England haven’t played like that in a long, long time and I thought they played really, really well."
Lenihan predicted an Ireland win beforehand, though he says he was aware of the threat posed by a resurgent England side under head coach Eddie Jones.
"There was always a worry that if Ireland met a big, physical side that could stop them dominating the gain-line, as the game plan requires, they could struggle and England have the tools to do that.
"That lack of intensity, and I’ve come across it before playing and in management, sometimes you’re just that bit off and it’s very diff to address it at the time.
"Look at what happened the last two years – stopping them winning a Grand Slam in Dublin and then the game over at half-time in Twickenham last year.
"There was all the talk about how dominant Ireland teams are and as an England player it was going to get to a stage where you say enough is enough.
"It was very evident that everything they were doing in the build-up was geared with only Ireland in their sights. It was obvious and whatever they did, they got everything bang on.
"They got our playbook and turned it on its head – when you see Tadhg Furling and James Ryan blasted back on their backsides you know something is going wrong. That has to be a worry," he said.
"In years gone by we beat England because we were smarter than them, but they out-smarted us on Saturday."
Lenihan says that despite the ‘doom and gloom’ surrounding this Ireland team following defeat, he believes they can still win this season’s Six Nations.
"They are capable of winning against Scotland on Saturday, Italy follow that and then it’s France in Dublin," he noted.
"We need Wales to beat England and then we’re in to the super Saturday on the last day with at least two teams in with a chance of winning."
