Venue gilds the lily for Irish

The Wembley experience, a unique atmosphere matched by pristine underfoot conditions had several Ireland players waxing lyrical about what is arguably the world's most famous soccer stadium. David Humphreys declared it to be "magnificent" and Eric Miller was no less effusive. "I did not think that the atmosphere would be as good as it was because the stands are so far away from the pitch," said the Irish number eight.

"But there are so many people there that the noise just engulfs you. It's a really good stadium. We came here on Thursday and were told to take in the stadium then and just focus on the match on Saturday. It was a slightly weird feeling coming in because you almost thought that you were about to play in the FA Cup final.

"It was a once off and we created a little bit of history. We will never play here again so it was great that we managed to come away with a win." Ireland's slow departure from the playing arena following the final whistle encapsulated the players' determination to savour their triumph, but in the sanctity of the dressingroom the smiles and waves were replaced by an overwhelming feeling of relief.

Miller explained: "Pure relief. It wasn't as if we had played especially well, we were much better against France, but we still had the match won. There was a time there though when all that changed and we could have blown it. That would have been the end of the world."

The tension of Test matches manifests itself in the performance of players and their ability to cope, but for Miller watching internationals is simply beyond him. "I want to put on record that the South African match before Christmas is the first time that I have watched a full 80 minutes of international rugby when Ireland has been playing.

"Whenever I was injured or even when I was younger I could not sit through a match. I'd have to get up and go off shortly after half-time. I couldn't watch the closing stages of this match. I'm terrible, absolutely terrible in that respect and I don't think I'll be getting much better in the foreseeable future.

"At 26-23 I honestly thought that we were gone. They had the psychological edge and we seemed to be scared of winning. We did well to come back. When they scored their first try I felt that they were still too far off but then things went from bad to worse. In the end I believe that character and fitness helped us to pull through.

"Humphs (David Humphreys) was unbelievable. He mixed the game perfectly and did not put a foot wrong. He took the right option at the right time, every time."

And what of England, visitors to Dublin on Saturday week? "We have turned the corner now with that victory. There is no going back from here and no more backward steps. We are going for the Triple Crown and that is not an idle boast. We are raring to get at England and then Scotland after that. We are looking to win both those games," said the confident Dubliner.