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3rd February 2019
09:15am GMT

"Yeah, that is a reality check, that's how it's going to be. That's why England are such a, literally, a big team. "They did really well tonight. it's hard to take anything away from England. The intensity they brought to the game, it was more a simmering physical intensity that they collectively delivered that made it a suffocating place to be out on the pitch."A further dose of reality will arrive on Monday when the World Rugby rankings are officially updated. Ireland's defeat sees them lose 1.79 ranking points, and they are now over three points back from the All Blacks. England leapfrog Wales into third place while the French plummet continues.
England have now won five of their last six Test matches and are the new tournament favourites, just shading Wales. France have now dropped to 10th in the world after coughing one up to Wales in Paris, on Friday.
Next up for Ireland are seventh place Scotland. An Irish loss in Edinburgh would cost them a further 1.45 rankings points and, should they beat France, see them overtaken by England.
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