CAELAN DORIS wants to gun down the Red Roses to forget about the November pain.
Ireland face England today as their kick off their bid to win a third Six Nations in a row but with question marks after some below standards in their Autumn internationals.
And captain Doris admitted that it was not just those outside camp who saw room for improvement in November.
He said: “There is definitely a bit of frustration around the Autumn and a feeling that we weren’t at our best.
“So prove to ourselves, as in how we train, the plans we have. There’s a tonne of belief in there.
“There’s an excitement about getting back there and showing ourselves and everyone else that we are capable of very strong performances.”
That will mean a big improvement from November – when Ireland lost to New Zealand and underperformed in tight wins over Argentina, Fiji and Australia.
And Doris was good humoured when identifying areas where they can be better.
He added: “The obvious ones from Autumn are discipline, we had pretty high penalty counts throughout our games, certainly much higher than the 2023 and 2024 Six Nations.
“Our lineout has traditionally been a strong point for us, it probably wasn’t quite at the percentages we’d expect so it’s trying to get that back up there as well. Lineout D as well.
“And then some of our attack and breakdown stuff as well, so I’ve mentioned basically the whole game there!”
But he reckons Ireland are in a better place now after some good showings at provincial level having been undercooked after just a few URC games ahead of November.
He added: “I’ve been happy with my performances with Leinster between the international blocs.
“And I think if you look at the provinces prior to coming into Autumn versus prior to coming into the Six Nations, I think performances and results have been a lot stronger. Across the board, all four provinces.
“I think we’re able to hit the ground running a little bit quicker this time around. Hopefully that will show.
“It goes back to just trusting, trusting the work. Not forcing things, not trying too hard which is a bit counter-intuitive.
“I like to play with instincts and not do too much thinking. So trust in the habits that I’ve built in training, trust in the work I’ve done off the pitch as well.
“So I can just go out there and have fun.”
