Beirne buzzing after Triple Crown success but reckons Ireland are just getting started

Tadhg Beirne regards the Triple Crown as tangible evidence of Ireland's progression and says it has created an "incredible buzz around the place".

Andy Farrell's free-scoring side ended the Guinness Six Nations with silverware thanks to Saturday's bonus-point victory over Scotland, which followed successes against Wales and England.

A narrow round-two defeat in Paris ultimately denied Ireland championship glory as France went on to complete the Grand Slam.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on the title, Munster lock Beirne insists there is a jubilant mood in the Irish camp, with many of Farrell's squad celebrating the first international honour of their careers.

Asked if the trophy shows the team are on the right track, he replied: "Absolutely. Everyone in here believes in what we're doing, believes in the way we're going forward.

"Everyone's excited about what's to come and everyone's enjoying the moment that we're in. So it's a pretty exciting time ahead.

"We're here to win silverware, that's our goal.

"We came in with the goal to win a Grand Slam and weren't able to do that and the championship was out of our hands after Paris, but we have done absolutely everything apart from that to put ourselves in position to win the championship.

"It's the first trophy for a lot of lads. We set the target of winning the Triple Crown. After we lost to France, we set the target of coming away from the last two games with bonus points and we achieved it.

"So there's an incredible buzz around the place, it was a serious effort from the whole squad."

Beirne played all but 19 minutes of the campaign, excelling at the line-out and winning crucial turnovers, as well as registering impressive ball-carrying stats.

Ireland, who ran in 24 tries