England captain Phil Vickery admits his team have got "nowhere to hide" during the next fortnight as they plot an unlikely ambush of France's escalating RBS 6 Nations title bid.

The Grand Slam favourites will arrive at Twickenham on March 11, with England reeling from a demoralising Croke Park experience that saw them break records for all the wrong reasons.

But while at least a third of the team must now sweat over their immediate international futures in World Cup year, Vickery has already started the healing process by telling his players they cannot dwell on the Dublin debacle.

He said: "We cannot make excuses. I am very proud of my team and I am a proud Englishman, and we know we have got a lot of work to do. This defeat hurts, but we have to take it on the chin.

"It's going to be tough over the next two weeks, but we've got nowhere to hide. We have got to face up to what is going to be a huge ask in two weeks' time.

"There is no point in making excuses. We weren't good enough. When you are that far behind playing against a side as good as Ireland, you need a miracle.

"Ireland thoroughly deserved their victory. They have got a fantastically powerful side, on and off the field. I think it is the best Irish team for some time."

England were effectively down and out at half-time, trailing 23-3 after conceding two converted tries when lock Danny Grewcock was in the sinbin following a reckless offside lunge at Ireland scrum-half Peter Stringer.

Inevitably, matters deteriorated despite Harlequins wing David Strettle's encouraging try-scoring debut.

Ireland compounded English misery as first-half touchdowns from full-back Girvan Dempsey and flanker David Wallace were followed by scores from wing Shane Horgan and substitute Isaac Boss during the closing quarter.

With fly-half Ronan O'Gara delivering a goalkicking masterclass - he landed five penalties and three conversions for a 21-point haul - Ireland gleefully rewrote the record books.

The 30-point winning margin smashed Ireland's previous record 22-0 victory against England in 1947, while the world champions conceded their highest points tally in Five or Six Nations Championship history, surpassing a 37-12 loss to France at Stade Colombes, Paris in 1972.

England have now lost four successive Tests against Ireland, and last won away from home more than a year ago. It was also their first defeat under new head coach Brian Ashton.

Ashton is unlikely to panic after seeing England dismantled, especially up front, where the Ireland forwards were quicker in thought and deed.

But he must consider changes in each row of the pack, with Grewcock, his fellow lock Louis Deacon, prop Perry Freshwater and flanker Magnus Lund among those whose places are surely under huge pressure.

Lund went off at half-time to be replaced by the more effective Wasps openside flanker Tom Rees, while a second-row combination of Tom Palmer and fit-again Bath captain Steve Borthwick deserves close attention.

England's scrum, meanwhile, desperately needs the return of Andrew Sheridan or Matt Stevens, but there was hardly cause to celebrate either for a back division pedestrian in comparison with an Irish unit that oozed class and invention.

Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, although he slotted two penalties and a conversion, provided a subdued presence, while inside centre Andy Farrell received a lesson in midfield artistry from opposite number Gordon D'Arcy.

Even the normally reliable and unflustered Josh Lewsey struggled - a fact underlined by his weak defensive effort in trying to prevent Horgan's 65th-minute try when an O'Gara cross-kick reaped its reward.

Lewsey said: "There were all sorts of facets in the game where we didn't do what we said we were going to do, which is frustrating.

"Three or four years ago, Ireland were by their own admission a 'nearly' side with great potential, but on the biggest stages against the best teams they didn't deliver.

"That mental toughness they've now got has come from provincial level - Munster won the Heineken Cup last season - and they are now one of the best international teams in the world."

The only English highlight was provided by Strettle, who could reflect on a job well done after his late call-up to replace neck injury victim Jason Robinson.

"It was amazing, an unbelievable experience," he said. "It was a day I will never forget.

"People told me to take it all in and enjoy the day, and you've got to, really. It was an awe-inspiring place to play rugby."

Matters degenerated for England just before half-time, as O'Gara completed his penalty hat-trick, then the visitors imploded when Grewcock was yellow-carded by French referee Joel Jutge for impeding Stringer.

Despite Grewcock's look of disbelief, it was a correct call by Jutge, and Ireland punished the Bath forward's indiscretion by scoring two converted tries in his absence.

Hopes of a second-half England revival flickered through a combination of Strettle and Wilkinson pegging the score back to 26-13, but then Ireland ran away with it, posting 17 unanswered points during the final 15 minutes.

Ashton said: "I am not in the mind to make any big decisions at this stage.

"I will go back, look at the players available and where we have to get to, and which players will take us forward. I still have faith in the squad."

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