England walk into the web

IRELAND offered a compulsive case again on Saturday that aggression and possession win matches.

England 13 Ireland 19

In an absorbing battle of wits, the men in green came up trumps to rock the Webb Ellis world champions on their own turf and end a run of 22 victories stretching back to 1999.

It was Ireland's first win in Twickenham since 1994, but every bit of it deserved according to former luminary Jeremy Guscott. "There can be no arguments, no excuses. It was a stunning win."

England inferred that their side handed it to Ireland by playing poorly but Guscott pointed out: "The Irish pack set the trend, attacked England and won the battle up front. Without much of the ball England tried to play catch-up but walked straight into another trap, a blanket defence full of very determined tacklers. This was a very cleverly engineered win, a victory for brain-power as much as good, sensible rugby."

Yes, Ireland had to dig deep at certain points. Peter Stringer produced another trademark hand-trip to fell Jason Robinson in full flight, Gordon D'Arcy held Ben Cohen in the tackle and forced the English winger into a double movement that yielded a penalty for Ireland rather than a try for England, and Malcolm O'Kelly knocked substitute Mark Regan into touch to save a certain try near the end.

If that suggests Ireland spent most of the day frantically defending, it's wasn't the case. Ireland led 12-10 at the break and 19-10 with 30 minutes remaining. It could have been 19-3 at that stage because the only blot on the copybook was the soft first half try they conceded to Matt Dawson.

The England coach, Clive Woodward, was admirably magnanimous. "Every aspect of our performance was way below what we expected but you have to give credit to Ireland for that.

"We nudged them a couple of times in the scrums and got a try directly from one of those, but Ireland competed there pretty vigorously and, to be honest, they destroyed our line out. They targeted our jumpers, competed for everything and came away with a vast amount of possession."

This was a day when the better team won and we have no complaints other than being very disappointed."

The sombre English mood contrasted sharply with the Irish camp. Captain Brian O'Driscoll, though failing to reach anything like his true potential, described the victory succinctly: "sweet".

"It has to be better than anything, they're the world champions, they were defending a long unbeaten run and it now gives us a chance of winning the championship. What can be better than that?"

Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan praised forwards coach Niall O'Donovan for identifying England's weakness in the line out and plotting a course for ultimate success.

"Niall deserves credit for the plan and the players for carrying it out. We also defended very vigorously and Mike Ford can take some of the credit for that. It's been a good week's work, right up there with the best in my lifetime as a coach."

If O'Driscoll was not at his best, midfield partner Gordon D'Arcy wreaked havoc.

While O'Kelly, Paul O'Connell, Simon Easterby, John Hayes and Anthony Foley were the pick of the pack, out half Ronan O'Gara was surely the talisman.

After hitting an upright with his first and easiest penalty opportunity, O'Gara slotted over five more kicks for a personal tally of 14 points. But his influence on the game was far greater than that. He effectively ran the match, his kicking out of hand remarkably good and his distribution top class.

At the heel of the hunt, Ireland now find themselves in line to win a first Triple Crown since 1985 with only Scotland to beat for glory. In the broader scheme of the Six Nations Championship, there is also a possibility of topping the table with two home games to finish up the campaign.

Mused Woodward: "Strange things happen in rugby but I honestly can't see Scotland beating Ireland. I'd say they're bankers for the triple crown."

ENGLAND: I. Balshaw, J. Lewsey, J. Robinson, W. Greenwood, B. Cohen, P. Grayson, M. Dawson, T. Woodman, S. Thompson, P. Vickery, S. Borthwick, B. Kay, J. Worsley, L. Dallaglio (captain), R. Hill

Replacements: C. Jones for Worsley, J. Simpson-Daniel for Balshaw (both 53), M. Regan for Thompson (58).

Temporary replacement. O. Barkley for Grayson (57-64).

IRELAND: G. Dempsey, S. Horgan, B. O'Driscoll (captain), G. D'Arcy, T. Howe, R. O'Gara, P. Stringer; R. Corrigan, S. Byrne, J. Hayes, M. O'Kelly, P. O'Connell, S. Easterby, A. Foley, K. Gleeson.

Replacement: K. Maggs for Dempsey (62, injured)

Referee: P. Honiss (New Zealand).