Ireland captain Jamie Heaslip has admitted that the home dressing room was dejected after losing to England on Sunday.

Owen Farrell kicked the away side to a 12-6 victory at the Aviva Stadium to move the Red Rose to the top of the Six Nations table.

Heaslip is adamant that his side needed to take full advantage of having an extra man when James Haskell was sinbinned for England in the second half.

"We are suffering a bit in there - it is a tough one to take," said Heaslip. "England played a smart game in the conditions and played a lot of rugby in our half.

"At 6-6 they had a man in the sin bin and I really thought that we were going to create a bit of momentum but it did not go our way.

"There are a lot of lads in our dressing room feeling battered and bruised."

Ireland travel to Murrayfield to face Scotland in their next game later this month.