Jones: We will learn from Dublin disappointment

Eddie Jones insists England will ultimately prosper from seeing a place in history denied by Ireland’s Grand Slam ambush in Dublin.

A 13-9 defeat at the Aviva Stadium brought the RBS 6 Nations to a fittingly captivating climax and left the champions stranded alongside New Zealand as they sought to surpass the 18-Test record run set by the All Blacks last year.

It was the first defeat of Jones’ reign and the head coach views it as an important learning experience as he plots England’s route to World Cup glory in 2019.

“We are 14 months into a four-year project. We have been chuffed with the results we have had, but realism tells us we have still got a lot to do,” Jones said.

“We were caught in certain areas by Ireland and full credit goes to them. We will learn from it. We are going to have more setbacks as we go to the World Cup. How many teams have a 90% winning record at Test level?”

Victory at the Aviva Stadium would have delivered the first backto-back Grand Slams of the Six Nations era, but rattled England were well beaten by impassioned hosts who played with greater intensity.

Centre Jonathan Davies has claimed “it just didn’t seem right” after Wales’ RBS 6 Nations campaign ended in controversial and crushing fashion against France.

Wales were beaten 20-18, conceding a try and 100th-minute conversion in a game that could now be investigated by Six Nations chiefs after a chaotic finale.

Wales’ interim head coach Rob Howley said the “integrity of the game had been brought into disrepute” after France replacement prop Uini Atonio went off for a head injury assessment.

Starting tighthead Rabah Slimani then returned during a remarkable 20 minutes of secondhalf stoppage time.