Twickenham Viewpoint: Horgan seals thoroughbred performance

A Gold Cup at Cheltenham for Ireland and now a Triple Crown for the men in green at Twickenham. All Ireland's early dash and verve seemed to have come to nothing as England's pack blitzed the opposition in the last 40 minutes.

But no one had calculated for a late run on the rails from a rank outsider called Shane Horgan. His brilliant control with 99 seconds remaining enabled him to squeeze in at the corner for the score that landed Ireland their second Triple Crown in three years and their third consecutive win over England, all on St Patrick's weekend.

Does it get better than this for Irish sportsmen? Credit the spirit and at last a desire to play a more attacking game of greater continuity. But the execution of that attacking intent was frequently flawed in a hurly-burly game.

Ireland, much the better side in the first half, found themselves emphatically on the back foot for much of the time in the second half. England dominated in terms of possession and territory, hurling themselves against a defence which had Fortress Ireland written all over it.

Despite all England's possession, Ireland had snaffled 12 turnovers to only six by England coming into the final quarter. That told you all you needed to know about the industry and effectiveness of Ireland's defence in which their captain, Brian O'Driscoll, and back-row men David Wallace and Denis Leamy were outstanding.

They were aided by some bizarre errors from England, notably Lee Mears' 57th-minute throw to the back of the line-out five metres from his own line. Leamy juggled the ball at the back before gaining control and plunging over. Ronan O'Gara's conversion went over and Mears' face should have gone bright red.

The running of Geordan Murphy into the line and on the counter-attack from full-back was instrumental in piercing the England defence. Murphy's silky running is one of the joys of the game. Unfortunately for Ireland, they wasted a lot of fine approach work by a lack of precision at the critical moment. They moved the ball with far more purpose and conviction. Players penetrated properly and at pace to keep the England defence fully occupied.

Ireland's back line have been threatening to give the definitive performance for a long time but have failed to do so. Yesterday, before the 68,000 crowd at Twickenham, they at last demonstrated the talents they possess and their many capabilities.

It was unfortunate for Ireland that O'Gara had left his kicking boots behind. Two missed penalty goals in the first half as well as a missed conversion amounted to scoring opportunities that Ireland surely needed to take.

Another three points went begging when Peter Stringer ludicrously ran a penalty in the England 22 close to the posts. His intent may have been commendable but his judgement was completely flawed. It was as though Ireland, having decided on a far more expansive gameplan, could not rein themselves in when cool heads and a pragmatic approach were required.

Another Irish scoring opportunity was missed when O'Driscoll, of all people, threw an awful pass behind Gordon D'Arcy when he was about to exploit a clear overlap on the wing. Maybe the finishing had been erratic but you could not criticise Ireland for attempting to release the shackles and play better rugby. They had proved they were capable of that within the first half-hour alone.

However, they needed an appalling error in judgement by the Scottish touch judge Rob Dixon to hit back from England's try by Jamie Noon after 74 seconds. O'Driscoll's kick slithered downfield and clearly touched the line before Shane Horgan booted on and won the race for the touchdown. Dixon saw the ball touch the line, raised his flag but then dropped it. On such whims matches can be decided.