Irish rugby coach Declan Kidney said on Monday that Ireland players must simply move on from what he called the grave injustice of Saturday's 19-13 defeat by Wales.
"Our job is to prepare for the next game. If we keep looking at the past we'll never get anywhere," Kidney told the press.
Kidney was referring to Mike Phillips crucial second-half try, a development that incensed Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll, after a blatantly illegal quick line-out throw-in.
On reflection however Kidney has called on the Irish players to let the incident go.
"If there's an hour or two of that, let's do it. But then we have to get on with it and then get ourselves ready for the next game. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, that's the test. This tests the team."
Kidney's pep talk fell on deaf ears however as Rory Best took O'Driscoll's side in underlining the importance of the 50th-minute incident.
The try should have been disallowed for a variety of reasons, Best said, but touch judge Peter Allan failed to acknowledge that the laws had been breached.
Observers say that Ireland will now reach the climax of the tournament fired up by a sense of grievance, and a win over England would be a terrific way to restore morale.
"England are on a great roll at the moment so it's a real opportunity to get back to winning ways and secure our first Six Nations win at the Aviva Stadium," said Best. "It's a game that we desperately want to win."
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