‘It was s**t. I’m not going to lie’ – Irish prop Andrew Porter opens up about frustrations over World Cup exit

Porter was penalised a couple of times at the scrum, while so too was his fellow prop Finlay Bealham later on.

Wayne Barnes’ decision-making was placed under the spotlight, with the Ireland coaches making it clear they were unhappy with some of the now retired referee’s calls.

Speaking for the first time since Ireland’s bitterly disappointing early exit, Porter opened up about his frustrations around how he was pinged by Barnes.

“It’s always (difficult), especially in the front-row, because there is that added pressure and responsibility on you, where a decision that doesn’t go your way can tip things in favour of the other team,” Porter told The Rugby Pod.

“A lot of the time you know you’re in the wrong when a penalty is given against you, but when the 50/50 calls where you feel a bit hard done by, it’s real tough not to get worked up about it.

“I could even feel that in the New Zealand game, in the Quarter-Final, my blood was honestly boiling after a while because I just felt like I had been hard done by.

“There are a lot of people out there that could probably disagree with me, they always have, but it’s tougher when you feel like those 50/50 calls aren’t in your favour.

“Being a ref is probably tougher than being a player in terms of the amount of criticism you’re going to get. One team is always going to hate you at the end of the day, I suppose, but that’s the tricky part.”

Asked if he felt as though referees often play the guessing game when it comes to making big decisions at scrum time, Porter responded: “I think they go with whatever team has the momentum in the game sometimes. If you have been painting bad pictures previously in the game, you shoot yourself in the foot then in that sense.

“If I am watching another game that doesn’t involve us, even sometimes I’m like, ‘What the f**k was that for?’

“I have been playing seven, nearly eight years and I’m guessing!”

Although he hasn’t played since last month’s defeat to the All Blacks at Stade de France, Porter (27) is back in Leinster training and is nearing a return to action as he looks to put the World Cup disappointment behind him once and for all.

“I’m still trying to come to terms with it in my own head,” he added

“It was gutting. I have never felt that much of a low, I don’t think, in my career.

“Obviously, there was huge hype and expectation. The energy that was at home and obviously all the fans that travelled over from Ireland to create that unbelievable, special atmosphere that I never witnessed before.

“All that linked in together and it’s building up really, really high and then it’s like a roller coaster – bang, it just felt like you were at the bottom.

“I was really struggling being at home after being in such a special environment.

“I thought being able to seeing my family and friends (would be great), but I didn’t want to do anything, I just wanted to be completely by myself. It was s**t. I’m not going to lie.”