Two things were patently obvious by the time England coach Clive Woodward stood up to quit the press conference deep in the bowels of Twickenham, eight minutes after he had taken his seat: the better side won Saturday's RBS Six Nations Championship match in London and Woodward's own team were poor.

You see Woodward reiterated these facts over and over, as if the more he said it out loud the easier it would be to reconcile what had just happened on the Twickenham sward. His initial, neat synopsis went something like this: "We had no complaints, the better side won. I thought Ireland did outstandingly well but (am) bitterly disappointed at the way we played."

Obviously for those who hadn't been paying attention or were a little hard of hearing, Woodward ventured: "You just have to hold your hand up, the better side won. You can take losing but when you have played so badly it makes it even harder. We don't lose too often but we haven't played well today. But that's probably taking a lot away from the Irish, who I thought deserved to win."

Four minutes later and the England coach revisited his initial prognosis.

"It's pretty painful, especially when you haven't played well. We have to make sure we lose in the right way, learn the right lessons and don't overreact. The better team won and we have no complaints. They deserved to win. We played poorly, they played very well."

It was almost as if he was alone, muttering to himself, "Them good, us bad," over and over. The theme persisted throughout the press conference. To give him his due, Woodward tried to be magnanimous in defeat, his speech to the Irish team and management in their dressing-room warm and complimentary.

Only once did the façade fade, albeit for an instant, when, somewhat sotto voce, he admitted: "I hate losing, I hate sitting here, but we just have to cop it and say the better team won."

It was a more raw and honest appraisal.

Woodward wanted to be a good loser and publicly, for the most part, achieved that aim. Privately he would have been seething, not so much at losing but at the manner in which the world champions succumbed.

This was not, though, an occasion to name and shame.

"You always take responsibility when you lose. I'm in charge. You get a pat on the back when you win and you take responsibility when you lose. We have to move on.

"We lost before and we've (subsequently) got very strong. I'm not going to overreact to this. But we just made so many errors out there and we had a bad day at the lineout. It's happened, we can't change it. We've just got to learn the right lessons from today."

Defeat should be unpalatable to the very best and England certainly merited that accolade over the past 18 months.

Speaking of things edible, Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll's "prawn sandwich" remark before the match, in which he politely hoped Ireland might give the home supporters something to choke on, found the mark with English fans and Woodward alike.

O'Driscoll smiled: "There were a few chants of 'would you like a sandwich?' on the way in but I (told them I) had eaten earlier."

Woodward had taken umbrage in print before the game, going so far as point out that he preferred cheese (sandwiches); hard cheese, obviously, after Saturday.

Just as England manfully tried to be gracious in defeat, Ireland attempted to reiin any triumphalism and, like their hosts, almost succeeded. Trying to contextualise Ireland's success, O'Driscoll said: "One of the best days. It makes it sweeter than 2001 because we beat them over here, because they're defending their home record of four years unbeaten in Twickenham and playing their first game there as world champions. It certainly makes the top three, if it's not pushing at number one."

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan eschewed the opportunity to berate those who doubted Ireland could win.

"We have come close to beating teams before: Australia in the World Cup was gut-wrenching when we came up a little short. When that happens you wonder whether you're ever going to cross the line on these occasions. Today was one of those days where we deserved to win the game, without being too bullish.

"Our lineout was outstanding and credit to Niall O'Donovan for that. Our defence was very solid, especially at crucial moments. Mike Ford did a good job there. It's been a good week's work and it's culminated in a very satisfying win for everyone involved, not just the players but all the management."

O'Sullivan paid tribute to his pack, whom he felt underpinned the success.

"I felt that our pack was up to matching the English pack. I don't think you ever bully them (England). It was always going to start and finish up front and I thought we had the forwards to match England and that would give us a platform to have a crack at them."

His faith was not misplaced.

Inevitably conversation drifted towards the possibility of a Triple Crown. O'Sullivan reacted like a startled rabbit.

"I don't want to start talking about Triple Crowns. We have two games left in the championship. I think we have to hold on to the reins here. I know it sounds boring but anything else is taking your eye off the ball."

He's right on both counts; it is boring but also understandable. It's important to enjoy these moments, wallow in the present, as victories like Saturday's don't come around too often. Ireland's coach devised a game plan, the players implemented it, and the result was a famous win that will sustain many a pub conversation through the next decade.