Rugby: England star 'had his heart ripped out'

Test rookie Tom Wood experienced the pain of defeat for the first time as England's Grand Slam bid was crushed by Ireland and admitted: "It felt like I'd had my heart ripped out."

The Northampton flanker was one of the finds of the tournament, a real success story in the back row of an England side that won the RBS Six Nations title for the first time in eight years. But that achievement counted for little and the medals, collected last night before the official dinner in Dublin, were scant consolation after England had been thumped 24-8.

"It pretty much felt like I'd had my heart ripped out because the Grand Slam was there for us and we just weren't good enough," said 24-year-old Wood.

"We didn't come here for scars and lessons, we came here for a Grand Slam but we got it wrong and it's a bitter pill to swallow.

"We got caught cold really which is pretty unacceptable at this level against a quality team like that. They were under a lot of pressure but fair play to them, they came out and delivered."