'Wind taken out of Scottish sails' by Ireland defeat - Jones
Jones is one of those personalities who carries an air of positivity whether speaking after a win or a defeat, but talking to reporters in the bowels of the Aviva Stadium after the game, his mood was uncharacteristically dark. Perhaps it was his own individual display that fell well short of his lofty standards that left him feeling so low. He was beating himself up for the "stupid error" of spilling a restart after Scotland had started to find a way through the Irish storm with Rory Darge's try to get back to 26-21.
"An absolute killer" as Jones described it. It might have been seeing his first genuine shot at silverware in a decade of playing for Scotland go up in smoke that was hard to handle. "I think they're very good at derailing our game," Jones said.
"You obviously just can't let that happen. I think that's going to be the key going forward. "This is obviously the game that every year that goes on that we don't win.
It becomes a bigger and bigger thing. "I believe we've got the quality in this group to keep going forward and getting better and better from where we are now. " Scotland Rugby Podcast: Scots' dreams die in Dublin By the time the sides meet at Murrayfield in the 2027 Six Nations, it will have been a decade since the Scots last tasted victory over the Irish.
Andy Farrell's side are one of the best in the world and it has been Townsend's misfortune that his reign has coincided with the strongest period in Irish rugby history. The counterpoint is that he has faced other top sides - not least a France team in round four that looked on an unstoppable charge to the Grand Slam - and devised a gameplan to beat them. Yet Townsend seems no closer to solving the Irish puzzle that has wrecked his ambitions at two World Cups and numerous Six Nations.