Ireland head coach Greg McWilliams praised the attitude of his side, but admits there are still big improvements to be made, after their 48-0 TikTok Six Nations defeat to England.
Despite conceding eight tries and falling to a fourth consecutive defeat, the 48-point margin was far lower than expected against Simon Middleton's side, while Ireland held the Six Nations leaders scoreless for close to 30 minutes of the second half.
The frustration for Ireland was again a malfunctioning lineout, which saw them spurn two good opportunities to get in for tries during the third quarter in which they played their best rugby.
"It's still the result that we didn't want," McWilliams said of the defeat.
However the Ireland boss added that he believes his side may have turned a corner in the manner of how they stood up to England, who crossed for three late tries which put a different sheen on the scoreline.
"I think, however, if you look at the squad and how hard they worked for each other, you saw that in how we went about our business today. We still have to get better, a lot of technical and tactical work that didn't function.
"But it's maybe a line in the sand moment, I thought we saw a group of players that started to believe in each other, and we saw that in front of our eyes. When you see that, you have a chance.
"They work really hard in camp, people outside don't get a chance to see what we see; a group of players working hard for each other. That's something you'd be proud of because if you have that you always have a chance.
"We have to get better though, there's parts of our game there that just isn't clinical enough. We're playing against a really good England side and we had a plan, and we stuck to it for good moments of it," he added.
Ireland head coach Greg McWilliams salutes his players and focuses on the positives after the 48-0 defeat to England. pic.twitter.com/klmAW3DSCw
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) April 22, 2023
The build-up to this game was dominated by the suggestion that England could put up a record score against the hosts, something Irish players and coaches labelled disrespectful earlier in the week.
But McWilliams says his side didn't use the external noise - as Nichola Fryday called it in the matchday programme - as a motivating factor.
"I don't think so. We don't really refer to it a huge amount in our camp. We can only control what we do.
"People can talk about what they want outside, as a group it's important we get together and find solutions, and don't go into our own small pockets and find problems. That's what the group have done, they got together, and have grown over this, and that's the most important thing.
"I'm super proud of this group pf players because they're getting it from people, from different angles, and that's the way the world is when you're playing in the spotlight. For this team to rally the way they did, I'm incredibly proud of them."
Ireland captain Nicola Fryday is disappointed to lose to England, but proud of the effort her team-mates displayed in the 48-0 defeat. pic.twitter.com/HkzvSuwnja
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) April 22, 2023
Fryday echoed the sentiments of her coach in terms of the team's character and was particularly encouraged by the resolve shown in the second half.
"It's a tough scoreline to take but you can't question the fight and the heart that the girls demonstrated to hold one of the best teams in the world out until the 70th minute in a really hard, attritional game," the Ireland captain said.
"I couldn't have asked for more from the group of girls here.
"We spoke about blocking out the outside noise. They don't know what we put into this jersey and what we sacrifice and how much heart and blood and sweat and tears goes into this for us.
"We wanted to show our families and friends, and most importantly our supporters that are behind us, that we are together as one unit and we're strong and we're going to come through this."
Ireland sign off their campaign against Scotland in Edinburgh next week, needing a win to avoid a potential wooden spoon.
And the head coach says they will take confidence from their display against the world's number one-ranked team.
"There's big improvements, but I also see areas that have to be better to play international rugby," McWilliams said.
"Hopefully we can rest well, build into next week, a massive week against Scotland.
"It's a bit of an opportunity for us to go into what is like a cup final next week, that's exciting. We get another chance to challenge the group.
"Nichola, and the leadership group, seeing it unfold and see them grow in this short space of time is very refreshing."
