Jack Conan hails Irish resolve after victory over Scotland comes at a cost

Jack Conan paid tribute to the way that Ireland recovered from a host of injury setbacks during their Six Nations clash with Scotland, to set up a Grand Slam decider against England next weekend.

A strong second-half performance from Ireland saw them run out 22-7 winners at Murrayfield but they leave Edinburgh with a lengthy injury list as Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, Iain Henderson, Ronan Kelleher and Garry Ringrose were all forced off.

Ringrose is a particular concern ahead of Saturday's clash with England at the Aviva Stadium after suffering a nasty head injury which saw him leave the field on a stretcher.

Conan insisted that Ireland were always prepared to face adversity in Murrayfield, but even he was taken aback by how many players his side lost.

"I think it’s such a testament to the belief that we ourselves as a squad have in each other and the management have in us," he told RTÉ Sport.

"We spoke during the week about adversity, about what happened a few years ago - coming here, rocking up a few minutes late - we said no excuses.

"Faz [head coach Andy Farell] spoke during the week about rocking up 10 minutes before the game and getting the job done. We could have walked off the bus and played and it wouldn’t have mattered to us.

"It’s such a testament to how mentally strong and the resolve that the lads have and that the coaches have fortified within us.

"To lose both hookers, two world class players, to lose one of the best back rowers in the world in Caelan Doris, one of the best second rows in the world Iain Henderson in the first 20 minutes, I don’t know how many other teams could have bounced back from that and put on the performance that we did."

"We could have walked off the bus and played and it wouldn't have