Neat stepper adds flick to repertoire

Gordon D'Arcy: Cameos. Pick one. A textbook tackle on Andy Farrell that forces the concession of a penalty.

The slaloming break that led to Simon Easterby's tour de force, the flanker brushing aside tackles to get within metres of the English line. The reverse flick pass, thrown blind, straight to Brian O'Driscoll, who in turn puts Girvan Dempsey in for Ireland's first try. Gordon D'Arcy was omnipresent in attack and defence.

His trademark shuffles and breaks may not have yielded the huge yardage of previous games but there was a quiet effectiveness to the way he played in Croke Park on Saturday. Last week the Leinster centre had spoken of the absolute necessity of banishing peripheral distractions. The essence of his argument was that it didn't matter where this match was taking place or, to some degree, the opposition.

The Croke Park factor had been something of a psychological millstone for the match against France, something that had become apparent after the frustration of defeat had been replaced by cold analysis.

D'Arcy pointed out the only commodity that mattered to the team was winning and, by extension, getting derailed expectations back on track.

Looking remarkably fresh and groomed for the post-match festivities in the Shelbourne Hotel, D'Arcy tried to retrace Saturday from a player's perspective.

"We (the team) can look back on it with a better sense of achievement having won the match. I think the big thing . . . was to separate ourselves from the occasion and play a game of rugby. We could then savour it afterwards when we got the result.

"Everybody looked at us in the French game and we realised we got too caught up in the occasion. The important thing was to step back at the start and savour it when we finished. The ability to separate the occasion and performance was vital and it showed through . . . It probably made a lot of people very happy and very proud."

The atmosphere at Croke Park was different on Saturday, the decibel levels well in excess of a fortnight ago. The players noticed, as D'Arcy explained: "It's different from any stadium I have played in. I have played in some really big ones and some really daunting ones but this is special - when a guy is five or six metres away from you can't hear your call.

"To illustrate it further, when President McAleese was standing there, the roar that went around before she came out gave me a tingle down my spine. I just knew something special was going to happen then."

The issue of the English anthem had been afforded the oxygen of publicity in the run-up to the game. Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan had asked the media not to chivvy the players about it in the run-up to the game but in the aftermath it was always going to be a topic despite the fact the Irish supporters observed it with consideration.

"A lot was made of it and the media hyped it up probably a lot more than it needed to be. You always respect your opposition anthems; anything less than that is disrespectful. There was respect and when our anthems came, they (the crowd) belted it out. That's the proper way to do it.

"For me every time I line out for Ireland whether it's Lansdowne Road, any place, and listen to your national anthem, it's a very special moment and you're lucky to get it. There's very few people who are privileged enough to be on the pitchside and listening to Amhrán na bhFiann . It was boomed out.

"I can't imagine how the English must have been feeling listening to that."

If the build-up was emotive, then the game itself was a homage to disciplined aggression and precision.

"We controlled the game for 70 minutes. We played smart rugby, giving ourselves options to play up the middle, play wide or kick the ball. We made the right choices, people knew where they were supposed to be and what to do.

"England, when they got their try, had a brief period where they were dominant but for us to come back from that score and keep them in their half for the rest of the game illustrated the great mental strength this team has.

"When the game is over you can look at it and realise that you are back in the championship hunt. I don't think anyone would have expected a result like that. It is not something that entered our mind even when we were going well in the second half and we got a try for Shane (Horgan) from Ronan O'Gara's crossfield kick. It was more about keeping England in their half.

"The points (differential) is a bonus. We feel that we can really challenge for the championship if we get a favour and have someone take France out."

Perhaps nobody is better equipped to answer just what it is O'Driscoll brings to a team than the man who plays beside him for Leinster and Ireland.

D'Arcy laughed: "Brian is the best 13 in the world. I keep saying this every week - every team would love to have him. We are no different. He comes back and you look at the belief he gave the players around him.

"Paul O'Connell had an absolutely fantastic game.

"He was able to control the pack, the real engine of our team. Brian by just being there was able to hold down two or three players. It gave me space. Look at the space Girvan Dempsey had there today. I think Girv should have been close for man of the match; he was absolutely fantastic.

"We went up 25 per cent from the French game. I think that 25-minute period in the second half where we controlled the (French) game; we did that for 70 minutes of this match. That's how you beat teams.

"For us now it's Scotland and a possible Triple Crown. Then it's Italy. If you look at Italy and the first few minutes of a very, very weird game in Edinburgh then you realise how tough it will be to play the Italians away. We're not going to get carried away by any stretch of the imagination."