Still room for improvement despite grand slam, says victorious Ireland boss Joe Schmidt

The 52-year-old, who has masterminded a renaissance in a side that was demoralised when he took it over after the 2013 championship, said he was pleased with the blend of experience and youth that had shown few nerves and held England at bay.

For Schmidt it was mission accomplished for the Six Nations – he had guided them to successive titles in 2014-15 but never the Triple Crown or grand slam – with the 2019 World Cup the main target for him before he likely steps down.

“It’s incredibly hard to predict,” said Schmidt referring to the future prospects.

“They are growing and getting better and understanding more but there is still a long way to go for those players.”

Schmidt, who also has guided the Irish to a national record 12 successive Test wins and counting, said young players were standing up and proving themselves but the spine of the team was still the experienced hands.