For Willie Duggan, (pictured second from left), this was an eventful day, not least as it was his first as team captain. This provoked a profile in this paper on the same day written by Paddy Agnew, in which he described the number eight as the toughest nut Ireland had in their possession, a 'hit first, talk later' kind of guy. He relayed a story from 1978, when thencoach Noel Murphy began berating his team, assuring them that changes were called for, that no-one was guaranteed a place, etc. 'Suddenly from the back of the room came a loud bang - Willie Duggan slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "All right, all right, but what the hell do you want us to do?"' Against England on this day, he was said to be constantly in the thick of forward exchanges, but his lack of pace became obvious. His cause wasn't helped by England's Phil Blakeway afterwards, suggesting his outhalf might have used his boot a little more throughout the game.

With the wooden spoon guaranteed after three losses from three, Ireland went on to get thumped 32-9 by Scotland at Lansdowne Road to complete a whitewash, but they didn't have to wait too long for revenge against the Triple Crown nations.