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That it was New Zealand who ended Ireland's 19-game unbeaten run at home will only deepen Irish dejection.

Salmond was clear that he accepted the democratic verdict of the people but while there was a hint of dejection in his manner, there was a flash of defiance in his words.

“I woke up with a big smile on my face today, feeling very loved by all of you,” he wrote on a carousel of photos showing his postrace dejection.

Drowning in post-traumatic dejection, he occasionally falls short of his own high standards.

That would have been easily forgotten looking at the dejection on the players' faces at the end of an utterly captivating tussle with a rejuvenated England.