Scotland's Croke Park win will not be quickly forgotten © Getty Images

Tommy Conlon laments Ireland's over-confidence prior to their Six Nations loss to Scotland in The Irish Independent.

"In space no one can hear you scream, in sport no one can see the shock coming. It is one of the charms and curses of this sporting life that the hit comes when it's least expected. No matter how long one has followed, observed and analysed games, there is still no safeguard against complete and total confoundment. "We're not talking about run-of-the-mill surprises either, which are ten-a-penny and usually come with some amount of forewarning: the favourites should win but the underdogs have a chance too. "We're talking about outcomes which in advance have a blanket guarantee and where pundits and punters have reached a state of near-absolute consensus: this team is going to win and the other team is going to lose because there is no other sane way of looking at it."