IRELAND coach Andy Farrell said he was 'unbelievably proud' of his players after they missed out on the Six Nations title in the dying seconds of the tournament.
Ireland sealed the Triple Crown on Saturday afternoon with a 43-21 bonus-point victory over Scotland that put them top of the table.
However, Thomas Ramos scored a penalty against England with the last kick of the tournament last night to secure a 48-46 win and the title for France.
Despite the late heartbreak, Farrell praised his players for taking the competition to the wire after their hopes had looked dashed after defeat to France on the opening weekend.
Ireland lost 36-14 in Paris but steadily improved, a narrow victory over Italy in Round 2 being followed by convincing wins over England, Wales and Scotland.
"It's been a hell of an eight weeks," said Farrell, adding: "How the group have come together and navigated their way through that has been pretty special.
"We grow massively because of it and the group has become more resilient because of all that."
He continued: "We could talk all night about the group and what these last eight weeks has meant to us but unbelievably proud is the word I would have thought."
Ireland heading in right direction
The tournament saw debuts for Munster's Edwin Edogbo and Ulster's Nathan Doak, while Connacht's Darragh Murray scored a try on his Six Nations bow yesterday against Scotland.
Ulster winger Rob Baloucoune was named Rising Player of the tournament having returned to the starting line-up for the Italy game, his first Ireland appearance for more than three years.
Farrell also praised the progress of players such as 27-year-old Michael Milne, who scored a try on his Six Nations debut in the defeat to France.
The coach tipped 33-year-old Stuart McCloskey for Player of the Tournament and lauded Tom O'Toole after the 27-year-old impressed having switched from tighthead to loosehead prop.
Leinster's Caelan Doris echoed Farrell by saying Irish rugby was on an upward curve.
"It's been a good journey so far throughout this," he said.
"I think we probably showed good resolve in bouncing back [from the France defeat].
"The Italy performance wasn't great but we still got the win here at home and I think it's been fairly linear in terms of trajectory since then.
"It's a great group he's building, there's depth building there, there's competition building within the squad.
"As Faz [Farrell] mentioned, there's the likes of Darragh Murray and Mick Milne who have come in with not a ton of experience, especially in the Six Nations, and putting good performances in.
"I think we're moving things in the right way and it's been enjoyable chasing down the potential and seeing some of the growth over the last number of weeks."
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