Captain Brian O’Driscoll has said that Ireland’s deathbed Triple Crown triumph is a "stepping stone to bigger things".

Speaking after the thrilling 28-24 win over a chastened English side at Twickenham, O’Driscoll looked to next season but said the team would concentrate on celebrating for tonight.

"We needed the performance we’ve been talking about this week for the whole of the Six Nations and to put it in to win the Triple Crown feels good," he said.

"The character this team has shown over those 80 minutes is phenomenal."

Shane Horgan, who grounded the heroic 78th minute try to secured Ireland’s second Triple Crown in three years described the build-up to his score as "fantastic".

"It was a great kick through by Brian (O’Driscoll)," he said. "It was a bit of a bump into the corner but I don’t mind taking those."

"There’s a group of core players there that definitely have big hearts," he added. "That shows through on these big occasions."

The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern also extended his congratulation to Eddie O’Sullivan’s men.

"This has been a remarkable week for Irish sport in athletics, track and field," he said. "We are very proud of all our sports men and women."

It was Ireland’s third consecutive win over England and capped off a desperately disappointing RBS 6 Nations Championship for Andy Robinson’s men as France were confirmed as champions.