Joe: Eddie is way off the mark
display after Jamie Heaslip was withdrawn in the warm-up just before kick-off.
The Munster skipper made a massive contribution as Ireland ended England’s world record and Grand Slam bids at the Aviva Stadium.
“Maybe a leprechaun tackled him in the warm-up, I don’t know,” smiled Jones, whose side collected the 6 Nations title on the pitch after the 13-9 defeat.
“He’s (O’mahony) a fantastic player, those conditions probably suited him more than (Jamie) Heaslip, who is probably more a top of the ground type player.
“Ireland played superbly, I thought we had them after half-time, they began to kick indiscriminately and gave us free balls, but they were just too good for us today and it happens sometimes.”
But Schmidt was unhappy that Heaslip’s withdrawal was called into question.
“It couldn’t be a more flawed theory,” countered the Ireland boss as his side ended the campaign with three wins and two defeats.
“It’s probably a bit of a slight on us, to be honest.
“We pick our team and prepare them as best as we can and go out and play. It was a disruption more than anything for us.
“Dan (Leavy) got a massive shock when I said to him to take that jersey off Pete, and I told Pete, ‘You take that jersey off Jamie’.
“I don’t know if you saw, but suddenly Jamie stepped aside and the doc had a look at him and tested him five minutes before kickoff.
“Jamie is one of our go-to guys in the lineout as well and plays with width, and we played with a lot of width in the first 20 minutes.
“It’s incidental. It’s a bit like saying Kieran Marmion is more suited than Conor Murray, but Conor Murray is massive for us – you’re always at risk when you don’t have a hugely experienced player available to you.
“Pete did a great job in the air for us tonight, and Donnacha Ryan and Iain Henderson called the throws very well.”