Joe Schmidt has expressed his disappointment at the manner of Ireland's defeat in the Six Nations opener with Scotland.
The head coach saw his team make an extremely poor start to the match as Scotland took control on the scoreboard with three tries in the opening period.
While Ireland fought back from a 21-8 deficit to take the lead in the second half, Scotland penalties saw the home side win at Murrayfield.
Schmidt was speaking to BBC Sport after the match and said: "We were well off our game early on and the Scottish attack really took advantage of that."
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt at the post match press conference ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
The Ireland head coach and two time Six Nations winner also brought up the issue of late arrival to the Edinburgh stadium.
Ireland Player Ratings vs Scotland
"It's particularly tough to take. We arrived at the stadium 10 or 15 minutes late and we were late for most things in the first half."
Ireland will now need to regroup with Conor O'Shea's Italy in Rome to come in the second round of matches next weekend.
But while the prospect of winning the Six Nations championship is not over, Ireland's hopes of a Grand Slam or Triple Crown are over before they could truly get started.
GALLERY: Ireland's Six Nations hopes suffer Scottish blow
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