Irish have to face up to life after Joe Schmidt and Rory Best but the incoming head coach has young talent to work with• We are expanding our coverage of New Zealand. Please help us by supporting our independent journalismA wit once stated, after surveying the wreckage of another forlorn Five Nations campaign, that
Ireland were in a critical state but it was not serious. Nothing a few shots could not make appear better. As the swaying lines of supporters made their way to the train station more than two hours after the end of one of the most sobering defeats in the six-year reign of Joe Schmidt, their optimism had not been doused by the raging
fire that burned deep within New Zealand. They scorched the hopes of a team who had never made it beyond the last eight but hope sprung infernal.
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