Matt Dawson pays Ireland the highest compliment possible in the rugby world

Chin up Stuart Lancaster, we were unbeatable on Sunday

Just in case the Irish team haven't been love bombed enough by pundits from across the globe, Matt Dawson has stepped up today to add his two cents and he is being very complimentary indeed. In his column for the Mirror the BT pundit argues that Stuart Lancaster shouldn't feel too down about his Grand Slam dreams being crushed in Dublin because the Irish team right now is sensationally good. How good? 'The way Ireland played they would have beaten anybody in the world – and that includes the All Blacks.' Praise doesn't get any higher than that in the rugby world. Dawson goes on to say that 'England were taken to school on Sunday by Joe Schmidt, who produced a training masterclass. 'The way Ireland cancelled out England, you would have thought Schmidt had seen Lancaster’s play-book.' Dawson's comments only add to the sense that the world is now acutely aware of how well Schmidt is preparing his team and how well the players are executing.