All’s well again in Ireland’s world

WELL, it was worth the wait.

All the head-scratching performances and pent-up frustration of four disappointing, below-par matches in the 2011 RBS 6 Nations championship were banished at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday as Ireland put England to the sword in breathtaking fashion.

It was still not the 80-minute performance that has been demanded of the Irish squad by coach Declan Kidney but in rediscovering the self-belief that had been diminishing since the end of last year’s Six Nations, Ireland finally put together a display that actually added up to the sum of its parts.