England have only themselves to blame for Six Nations hard luck story

Sport is one of the only areas of life where you objectively win and lose; no question of sentiment or taste, the outcome is unarguable.

The bare facts are that Ireland are Six Nations champions and the Scots were whitewashed, yet within the protagonist’s campaigns were so many ‘ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ that players, coaches and fans went through every emotion, culminating in the most incredible denouement on Saturday.

The Irish were, by a narrow margin, the best team in the competition; more precise and disciplined when it mattered most.

Their win over Scotland showed that their relative …