And the Ireland coach paid tribute to the battling side and claimed some had come into contention for a final place when he pencils in his squad details.

“The attitude pleased me, the work rate was excellent, especially in the back row,” Kidney told the Irish Independent. “They were under pressure but they worked tirelessly.

“All credit to Luke (Fitzgerald) for coming back. Robbie Henshaw got a tweak in his knee and we had to be careful. Those things pleased me.

“Some guys did put their hand up, some guys got caught out. So when we do the additions, you look at it in a team effort and we will look at it before deciding on the final squad.

“When the team doesn't win, some individuals can have a huge game and those are the guys we need to look out for and pick out.”