Superior Irish go the distance as Italians cave in

As a slightly stunned crowd could only stand and applaud an Irish team heading for the dressing-room with an unprecedented 33-0 lead, what followed would probably have surprised them even more. The players were actually given a bit of a rollickin'.

No letting up was the angry gist of it - as has happened in the past - and imagine how disappointed they'd all be if they took their feet off the pedal and returned at full-time to the same room with, say, a 46-26 kind of victory margin.

No less than the improved start, targeted for the intervening two weeks since the Scottish game, the need for an enduring 80 minute performance was reasserted during that interval.

Admittedly, the third quarter was Ireland's least impressive and the second-half was heading for a bit of an anti-climax after Ronan O'Gara and Diego Dominguez had traded a couple of penalties apiece.

Even the crowd had quietened as if to say "oh well the first-half was fun while it lasted." Cue Rob Henderson on the hour mark. It seems strange to say that a replacement left one of the abiding impressions on a game that at 39-6 had long since been done and dusted. But he did. For this was yet another one of Henderson's cometh the hour, cometh the man impact arrivals. A mild hum of expectation had greeted the Wasps man and he immediately lined up in a quasi full-back position. As Peter Stringer delivered the quick lineout ball off the top in front of Ronan O'Gara pretty much everyone knew what was going to happen next.

The stampeding buffalo had already begun to gather momentum and took the ball on the burst. The Italian midfield caved in, and on and on Henderson went on a mighty gallop. Though he was too good even for his own support, from the recyle Brian O'Driscoll cut back from the blind side and with one Henderson bound, O'Driscoll and Ireland were free and the crowd were alive again. Psychologically the Italian midfield caved in. Even Cristian Stoica shrivelled, and within five minutes Brad Johnstone replaced him.

It's highly unlikely that without Henderson's arrival Ireland would have finished off the game in the manner Warren Gatland had demanded of them at the interval. The psychological affect of fully completing a job well done is huge, for this will have given the dressing-room an immense and collective sense of satisfaction.

This was a clinical, accurate and even ruthless performance.

Curiously, the official statistics reveal that Italy had almost an equal share of possession in the first-half. It certainly didn't seem that way but it also showed the effectiveness of the improved, post-Twickenham return to a more aggressive defence, not to mention how the two teams used the ball.

That both Irish wingers were put away from set-pieces in the first seven minutes was a clear statement of intent. Amid the disciplined defending, epitomised by Keith Wood's huge hit on Denis Dallan, Ireland's first five real attacking sorties of the opening half-hour all yielded scores. Over 30 minutes had elapsed before Ireland turned over the ball within breathing distance of the Italian line for the first time. Even then, they encamped in the Italian 22 until plan B off a rolling maul saw Kieron Dawson deservedly crash over for his first test try off Ronan O'Gara's popped inside pass.

From the off, the good work started with the donkey work up front. We can almost take Wood's all-action, all-purposeful displays for granted but again he was immense. He has probably benefited from having a wise old head like Mick Galwey beside him.

The work-rate of John Hayes (and no doubting that he got the full 80), Peter Clohessy and Malcolm O'Kelly was huge. The scrum predictably was an area of strength, as targeted, though perhaps not quite wreaking the heavy toll Ireland had hoped.

The line-out variations were excellent, earning the breakthrough with a quite breathtaking try for Wood - remarkably the hooker's 11th as he continues to home in on Brendan Mullin's record 17 - with a little twist on Clohessy's typically deft peel and offload courtesy of Stringer's sublime reverse pass.

But it is the work at the breakdown of the ubiquitous and highly skilled Dawson, with the unfussy and mightily effective Simon Easterby in tow, along with Stringer's ability to whip the ball out quickly, put it in front of the recipient and invariably take the right options which has revolutionised this team's scope.

This gives O'Driscoll so much more room to work his magic further out, and at last there's real pace in the outside three.

Fittingly, four of the six tries came from O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan (that his two tries came on his opposite wing underlined his work-rate) and Girvan Dempsey, while the reborn Dennis Hickie was desperately unlucky not to score a couple of crackers himself.

O'Driscoll's one blemish was not to put him away after his brilliant running line and acceleration onto Henderson's half-break, but placed alongside his brilliance this is nit-picking.

Ronan O'Gara's selection was fully vindicated. The classy 22-year-old played a lovely game, pin-point line-kicking, perfect place-kicking, smooth distribution and possibly only a couple of wrong options when taking the ball on himself. He'll enjoy his 23rd birthday on Wednesday after a record haul of 30 points - easily eclipsing Paul Burke's landmark of 24 set in the defeat to Italy three years ago and also Diego Dominguez's championship record of 29 set against Scotland four weeks ago. Ireland now have two seriously good outhalves.

All Ireland really wanted was successive championship wins, the first time this has happened since 1993, and the first time at Lansdowne Road since 1983. But Ireland can't step onto a pitch these days without setting a new record, in this case shredding it.

Both the Irish points total and winning margins were championship records - the former eclipsing the mark set a fortnight earlier in the 44-22 win over Scotland and the latter beating the 87-year-old 24-0 record win at the expense of France.

Already, Ireland's haul of 122 points is a new championship record in just three games - shattering the previous best of a mere 71 points in 1983. The haul of six tries was another record for a championship game and Ireland's tally of 13 thus far has already usurped the landmark of 12, set in 1928 and equalled in 1983. In this regard, Ireland still lead the way in the tournament. The team that couldn't score tries now can't stop scoring them.

Hats off all round.