It would have been one thing to beat England in a Grand Slam decider at Lansdowne Road in spring sunshine. It was altogether another thing losing it there.

As England captain Martin Johnson and his team-mates sprayed the champagne around the Irish turf, the moment of defeat for Ireland was lavishly illustrated.

It was what England had come to Dublin for and what this side had fully expected. Team coach Clive Woodward made that quite clear afterwards. For the English players and management the fear of losing this match had weighed far heavier than the prospect of actually winning it.

"We had to nail down this Grand Slam thing and that was the important goal," said Woodward. "We had to win today without any prevarications. In this sort of year (World Cup), you've got to put the players under pressure, you've got to put yourself under pressure and the coaches under pressure and see how we all respond. The preparation was excellent this week. I was very confident going into the game.

"We played a little more pragmatic, played to our strengths and won, won comfortably. I don't think we were in any danger of losing any of these (Six Nations) games. So we'll keep learning and move on."

Woodward's occasionally prickly character was kept well under the lid. In washing over Ireland so competently, all the coach could see now was relief that England had not again dropped the ball running over the winning line. He was happy for the win, smiling for his players, beaming that the platform for their World Cup bid went according to his and his team's precisely laid plans.

"I think it would have consequences for us if we'd lost today. It would have been a very tough year for everyone. We said at the start that if we could win this game ... I wasn't trying to be smart behind the scenes but I was delighted that Ireland won four out of four to make this bigger. I couldn't have put more pressure on the team today if I'd tried and I'm delighted by the way they responded.

"From our point of view it was a huge bonus. From the Irish point of view I think they'll take it in their stride, they know they got beaten by a good team today. England probably have that little bit more experience now. Ireland are where England were about two years ago."

England's phenomenal defence once again held strong when Ireland found their vein of form. Much of it is what defensive coach Mike Ford has been teaching his players over the past year or so. Ford learned his trade from England defensive coach Phil Larder. There, too, maybe, they are two years ahead.

"We felt their main threat was Humphreys, Maggs and O'Driscoll and they were the people we concentrated on, " said Larder. "Yes, defence is definitely a massive part of the game but you can take it to the extreme as Australia did in the last World Cup, where their attacking game was based on defence."

For Woodward, the match also marked the return of Lawrence Dallaglio as a major force on the England team. After injury, form and a tabloid sting rocked his career in recent years, the number eight finally again looked like one of the best back-row players in the world.

"There were a lot of big, big performances today," said Woodward. "That was certainly Dallaglio's best game for England for a long, long time. He was just fantastic. I was really pleased for him because behind the scenes I've been giving him quite a lot of stick and leaving him out. But he's responded like all great players do. I'm also pleased for Martin Johnson because he's been under a lot of pressure too.

"Now the next really big game for us is the World Cup. We've a lot of good games in between but they are nothing like the pressure that we faced today. That will put us in good stead when we get there next October when we get into games where there will be no tomorrow.

"This is our year because we've finished with experimenting. That's how I see it. We've a tried and trusted team. This season is about winning and nothing else matters."

Faint praise from opposing coaches can sometimes be damning. Not Woodward. He doesn't trifle. Irish management therefore can take his praise, faint as it was, at face value.

"All credit to Ireland and Eddie's team," he said. "They've had a great season. This result today shouldn't diminish that. I hope that we all go to the World Cup, all the Northern Hemisphere teams, and support each other and get stuck into these guys. Ireland will do that. You don't win four out of four by being a bad team."