RINGROSE PAIN GAME
GARRY RINGROSE says Ireland are more interested in banishing the memory of their Cardiff defeat than derailing England’s Grand Slam chariot in Dublin next weekend.
The Leinster centre admitted his first game in the Principality Stadium was a chastening experience, but has already set his eyes on next week’s clash against the Auld Enemy in Lansdowne Road.
The shock Wales defeat put an end to Ireland’s hopes of creating a Six Nations title showdown in Dublin, but the 21-year-old insists there’s still plenty to play for.
“We would not look at it the game in terms of stopping England, we will focus on getting ourselves right - it is not about trying to stop them,” he said.
“We will want to right a few wrongs after losing on Friday so we will be doing our best to learn from our errors and get it right in a week’s time.
“There is definitely that focus towards next week and there’s no shortage of motivation playing against England in front of a home crowd. We’ll try and hit the ground running on Sunday evening and Monday morning.
“I think everyone will be incredibly disappointed after a loss, but it motivates you to get back out and ready, starting on Monday.”
Ringrose may face a battle to start against England if Ulster back Jared Payne (above) proves his fitness.
The Irish centres didn’t fare too well against their Welsh counterparts, with Ringrose not given the open space he enjoys, and indiscipline from Robbie Henshaw costing Ireland a certain try in the final minutes that might have given them the win.
“It was very tough, Scott Williams and Jonathan Davies are two incredible players - they made it very difficult for myself and Robbie on both sides of the ball when we had it,” Ringrose admitted. “They were incredibly dangerous and showed their quality. We can learn from errors we made in certain areas.
“We were getting into the right areas and applying a lot of pressure, it was just getting that last element to try and unlock them. We don’t need to change anything massively or re-invent the wheel, it is just little individual errors. We need to be a little more clinical and we will benefit.”