'Old head' Allen delighted with team effort

"It was a great way to round off a good game. We set out what we wanted to do in the week, we wanted to build on from what we did against Leinster last weekend, and I think it was a good effort from the boys. We deserved the win tonight."

Despite being just 22-years old and with only eight prior regional appearances to his name, Allen found himself in the rare position of being one of the senior players in a youthful pack and considered a comparative old head, something he admits to finding strange in the week leading to the game:

"It felt a bit weird in the build-up when people were talking about all the youngsters and I thought' that's me, surely?'" said Allen.

"Yes, I'm older and more experienced than a lot of the boys in the 23 so I had to try and stand up and show some leadership for the younger boys out there.

"We've trained hard all week, there's been a lot of talking on the training pitch, making sure the boys coming in knew what was expected of them and what they roles were, if they weren't sure they knew they just had to ask. We've all been there, coming into the group and being a little unsure so we've all had to help each other out and that makes a difference as it meant everybody felt comfortable. It paid off because it was obvious out there, especially with the try at the end, that people knew what they job was.

"We had a lot of boys making their debuts tonight, first starts, or boys with just one or two games behind them, and I think they showed they are worthy of the jersey.

"The English sides always have strength in depth, they are always physical, but we've shown tonight that we are developing as a team, bringing youngsters through, and showing what we're about."