Best disappointed but Ulster run-in looms large

Best, who suffered his first international loss in his four caps as captain at Twickenham, was part of the Irish front row that was outclassed by England, who eased to a 30-9 victory.

He will have little time to dwell on his disappointment however with Ulster resuming RaboDirect PRO12 action on Saturday away at Treviso.

Ulster have five regular-season league games remaining and currently lie in fifth place, one point and one place behind fourth-placed Glasgow Warriors and the play-off places.

But Best admits that he and Ireland were not up to scratch at the weekend.

"We did not get a platform for our backs," said Best.

"You are not going to win an international when your scrum is under that sort of pressure.

"That second half performance simply was not us. This team has more character than we showed in the second half.

"Our scrum was not good enough. It cost us the game and there is no point in trying to hide from that - they destroyed us up there."