RUGBY:An 'embarrassing' error by officials was not being used as an excuse by some bitterly disappointed Irish players, writes GAVIN CUMMISKEY

THIS IS not Irish rugby’s Thierry Henry moment. It will not be used as an excuse. Not by an elder like Rory Best or even the cub of the group, Keith Earls.

Brian O’Driscoll gave the most chilling rebuke to referee Jonathan Kaplan and touch judge Peter Allan, stating if he had made such a mistake he would be “embarrassed”. That was the height of it; England’s rolling chariot demands Ireland must realign what has now become an incoherent style of play.

“Everyone has seen the footage. It speaks for itself,” said Best of Mike Phillips’ controversial 50th-minute try. “We are obviously bitterly disappointed. A game as tight as that can sometimes come down to a ref’s decisions but we had opportunities before and after that. It shouldn’t have mattered.”

But it did matter and it will continue to hang over them unless redemption is somehow attained this Saturday. Welsh captain Matthew Rees explained his part in the Phillips’ try as “just playing what was in front of me”. As a fellow hooker, Best had no problem with Rees chancing his arm with the illegal quick lineout that proved the game’s seminal moment. “Why wouldn’t you try it? They got seven points from it. That’s just the way it is.”

Put the Phillips try on the shelf for a moment because that is clearly what Paul O’Connell’s pack did in the hectic last few minutes as they presented the Irish backline with a platform to go and win the game.

Just as they had done against France. But for the second time in this campaign, a desperate late raid for a try was halted by a gargantuan, modern-day centre forcing a handling error from an Irish forward in open country. This time Jamie Roberts enveloped Cian Healy to loosen the pill from the prop’s grasp, in uncannily similar fashion to Yannick Jauzion’s textbook tackle on Seán Cronin.

Best, taking responsibility as one of Ireland’s vice-captains, cast the net further still. “It is really the third time this season that it has happened. Against South Africa we had a late charge as well. We are disappointed again that there was a bit of a lull in the middle 20 minutes of the second half where teams scored points against us and we didn’t get back at them.”

The lessons of the late escape in Rome have simply not been digested. “We’ve been beating ourselves a lot this year,” was Earls’ honest appraisal. “We are learning but we are learning the hard way, you know?”

Like Best, Earls is one of the positive individual contributors in this team at the moment. “That quick lineout and try was a sickener, y’know?”

We do.

Earls’s development into a trusted performer in the white heat of Test-match battles is a grain of comfort for Ireland’s back play. Continuing with the attacking threat he showed in Murrayfield, when roaming off his wing in search of opportunities, this time possession came to him as the Welsh repeatedly rained ball down on Ireland’s back three.

“They are a long-kicking team so we just stayed back there. It was actually quite enjoyable because we got to run back at them,” said Earls.

Successful teams always inflict their ways upon the opposition. Ireland are not doing this of late, abandoning their new philosophy mid-competition to fit the challenge in front of them instead of imposing their will in a more long-sighted manner. “Overall, our game plan remains the same,” said Earls. “We don’t want to go too far off track.”

The calmness and measured response by Best are reassuring even if it remains unexplained why Ireland are unable to put teams away at present. “I think we are very close,” claimed the Ulster captain. “It is easy for us all to step up here and say that but just look at our defence. Again, we conceded a dubious try and in other games we have been pretty watertight as well.

“We got a good start and then eased back a bit then we went again then we eased back. We are allowing teams to come into it when possibly we should have a bit more killer instinct.

“We are not intentionally letting teams into it but it is just the way it is. We are scoring tries, playing a good brand of rugby, not conceding. Our discipline was a lot better today. The next step is to put together an 80-minute performance.”

The concern is that England have uncovered a successful formula, six months out from the World Cup, while Ireland continue to search, at times blindly, for the magic switch that will illuminate their talented individuals.

“It is our last game in the championship, last home game, last competitive game before the World Cup so we want to finish on a high,” said Best.