It was far from the way Cian Healy would have liked his final match for Ireland in Dublin to end.
A consolation of sorts was his 77th-minute try, which he agreed was too little, too late in a match that ran away from Ireland over a half an hour in the second half.
Throughout his 137 caps, he would have experienced the beaten feeling many times before, but layered over the disappointment of the scoreboard was the ending of a personal journey over almost 16 years.
Saturday was the last time Healy will stand for the national anthem in Dublin, the last time he will wear an Irish shirt and score a try at Lansdowne Road. It has been a long road since he first stepped out against Australia in 2009.
“It was good, it was enjoyable at times,” he said. “It was nice to be on the bench and have the opportunity to compose myself a bit after the anthems. That was tough. I’m sure it was tough for Pete [O’Mahony] going straight into battle.”
There was nothing really racing through his head during the anthems, no tactics, no running through his preparation, but there was a dignity to the moment and the swell of satisfaction. Still standing there at 37-years-old for the final time was a triumph of bodily maintenance, drive and focus and at the heart of his emotions.
“Just pride, just enjoying singing it here, the last opportunity to do it” he said of Amhrán na bhFiann.
“I had to go in and wash my face and come back to neutral after that. They’re special moments and doing something with the two boys [O’Mahony and Conor Murray] at the same time is nice, but at the same time, next week is really the last week for us and we want to do it properly.”
It was not just a day for the loosehead prop but his family. Healy’s parents, sister, wife Laura and children Beau and Russell were all in the stadium watching him score his 13th try for Ireland. Italy in Rome next week in the final match of this year’s Six Nations championship will be his final game for his country but he made some memories on Saturday.
“They [children] love it,” said Healy. “I love when they come on and Laura is on the sideline and my parents and my sister was down this time. It’s very special and they are probably not at an age where it will be a huge memory to them when they’re older, but there will be pictures and videos that I can show them to show that they were part of something special.”
But if there was any hint of Healy becoming sentimental or dewy-eyed about the closing of his career, it was quickly dispelled.
The scoreboard was a difficult watch and although his and Jack Conan’s tries at the end of the day gave it a better veneer, 42-27 will have knocked back some of the younger players on the team.
The loss of a possible Grand Slam and the championship at home and the shredding of hopes and ambitions over 80 minutes is not what many in the Irish group would have been exposed to prior to Saturday. Perhaps it was a moment for the three senior players to step in and galvanise the less experienced members of squad before the visit to the Stadio Olimpico next weekend.
“A lot of the young lads don’t know this feeling and unfortunately the three of us do, we know well enough,” said Healy.
“Everyone’s fairly upset about that. We had bigger plans and bigger intentions. I don’t think you put an arm around people, no. You guide them through the process of getting over it and getting on with it.
“This is professional sport. You suck it up. You can’t feel sorry for yourself for too long. It’s a lesson you have to learn early in your career. Ideally, they would have learned this another year down the line, but they’ll be fine. They’re all strong professionals and they all have good heads on them.”
For now, they have six days to suck it up. After that Healy has all the time in the world.
