Ireland blew England's chances of a Grand Slam with a 20-14 win in Dublin, as the desperate English once again fell at the last hurdle.
Going into the game without even a chance by the bookies, Ireland surged into the lead with a Keith Wood try in the first-half and never looked back, David Humphreys striking three penalties and replacement Ronan O'Gara adding another two as a Martin Johnson-less England failed to show any leadership or cohesion in the heat of battle.
Sole try-scorer for England was replacement wing Austin Healey, but even his 75th minute try could not rescue what was one of the worst England performances in recent memory, and one which brought their run of 11 consecutive wins crashing down in front of their very eyes, in a manner all too familiar in recent years.
The fallout from this game will take time to set in, with even the Sunday morning Dublin hangovers failing to mask the fact that even without captain Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio, England -- on paper -- should have had enough in the locker to put away their opponents.
Man for man, Ireland showed more desire, heart and importantly composure, and the amount of good ball kicked away by England to an eager Ireland will undoubtedly see Clive Woodward's gospel of "Total Rugby" brought down from the shelf and dusted off as the Irish party gets underway.
England still claim the Six Nations title, which was a mere mathematical formality after Ireland's bad day at the office against Scotland, but had the Irish not drawn a blank on that afternoon, they would have been the deserved holders of a memorable Grand Slam.
It was a surprisingly disjointed England which took the field, sloppy handling and too many wasted punts besetting a first half which saw them gain the early lead through a Wilkinson penalty after Humphreys had missed one from wide out on the right for the home side.
England hooker Phil Greening tried to emulate his bald-headed opposite number Keith Wood with a break and a chip down the right wing, but the most effective run of the half was that by the male streaker on 40 minutes, who ran the length of the field unopposed, beating the stewards for pace and power before being ejected from Lansdowne Road.
The stadium volume went up considerably after 16 minutes when Ireland spurned the chance of three easy points from a penalty, bravely electing instead to go for a lineout in the right corner of the England 22.
A superb high take saw hooker Keith Wood peel away to the back of the lineout and take the ball on the burst on an arcing course. His momentum was too much for the England back-row from five metres, and his barging run saw the Harlequins man wriggle over to plant the ball on the whitewash for the try, Humphreys missing the conversion from right of the posts.
Jason Robinson showed the only real glimpse of spark for England with a rare break from his own 22, sprinting and jinking all the way to the centre spot before being hauled down. The England support -- as was the general case in the half-failed to maximise the energy of their three-quarters as the attack petered out.
Ulsterman Humphreys -- despite his perfect kicking record against Wales last week -- proceeded to miss the third of his four attempts at goal from a penalty as England captain Matt Dawson bode farewell to the game after injury before the break.
His replacement was not however the lively Leicester scrum-half Austin Healey, rather Saracens' No.9 Kyran Bracken, a conservative choice by England as they stuttered into half-time only 11-6 down after a further penalty each from Humphreys and Wilkinson.
One penalty apiece for Humphreys and Wilkinson kept the home side's five point advantage, but England looked like snatching that lead back when wing Dan Luger started a run from halfway.
The Harlequins wing outstripped scrum-half Peter Stringer before powering through the tackle of fullback Girvan Dempsey, and with the after-burners turned on and the tryline beckoning, Stringer somehow stretched out and ankle-tapped the explosive Luger for what would have been a certain try.
With fly-half Humphreys leaving the pitch through injury on 60 minutes, Ronan O'Gara's first act was the prospect of a 35-metre penalty to extend their lead to 17-9. He held his nerve and with England continuing to drop the ball in vital areas, yet another Grand Slam capitulation seemed inevitable -- even with 20 minutes left.
O'Gara again held his nerve as Ireland struck a penalty from the right touchline to take an even bigger lead, but the England attack finally reared its head with five minutes to go near the Irish line.
Left out of the starting line up, it was Leicester's Austin Healey who gave the English a fighting chance as he dived in the right corner on a diagonal short run from a Wilkinson pass, but with the Newcastle fly-half failing to strike the tricky conversion wide from the touchline, the six point gap looked too big to bridge.
The tension mounted as injury-time deepened and England pressed near the Irish line, but even sparks from Jason Robinson and Dorian West were rendered irrelevant as Austin Healey knocked on in the 22 -- the last effective passage of play for Clive Woodward's side.
After the final whistle had sounded to a rousing Dublin crowd, the sight of the dejected England team trudging across the stage on the centre spot to collect their Six Nations winners' medals was a surreal one, and summed up the frustrations of a way-below-par performance from virtually every single player in the white shirt.
Credit to Ireland, their grit and desire put shame on a mis-firing England, whose endless wasted possession ruined what -- in theory -- should have been a historic afternoon for England.
Instead, their Grand Slam wagon once again lies wrecked by the side of the road, as Ireland deservedly emerged victorious.
Man of the match: Keith Wood. Candidates from the England team were virtually non-existent, with Jason Robinson not putting too many feet wrong on the wing, but being starved of sufficient ball to make an impact. Austin Healey looked lively on the wing, but his brief cameo as a replacement was blotted by a decisive knock-on deep into injury-time which could have theoretically cost England a score. David Humphreys in the Ireland No.10 shirt solidified the Irish attack, although his missed kicks mean Wood gets our vote for the award, with Girvan Dempsey and Denis Hickie also well worth a mention after their efforts in the backs.
Moment of the match: Stringer's ankle-tap on Luger. A fleeting run from England wing Dan Luger in the Ireland half saw him sail through the tackle of Girvan Dempsey, and with a seemingly clean run into the tryline, it was Stringer whose outstretched palm clipped the heels of the Harlequin, sending him crashing to the floor, and keeping Ireland in the lead. Stringer's tackle gets our vote not just for the drama, but for the importance. Coming as it did at 14-9 to Ireland, Stringer effectively nipped English momentum in the bud, and went a long way to dampening their spirits.
Villain of the match: The England team. England failed to show up at Lansdowne Road -- the England who have recorded 11 consecutive Test match wins anyway. To single one player out may seem harsh, not because there were no poor performers, but because as a collective unit, they failed to function. Bad decisions, poor execution and handling errors in crucial areas meant that defeat was fully justified. Of course they could have conceivably won the game, but it would have been a Grand Slam they did not deserve based on this 80 minute showing -- however good the previous 320 minutes may have been.
The Teams:
Ireland: 1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 John Hayes, 4 Mick Galwey, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Eric Miller, 7 David Wallace, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves: Kieron Dawson, Mike Mullins, Trevor Brennan, Emmet Byrne, Ronan O'Gara
Unused: Guy Easterby, Frankie Sheahan
England: 1 Jason Leonard, 2 Phil Greening, 3 Julian White, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Simon Shaw, 6 Neil Back, 7 Martin Corry, 8 Richard Hill, 9 Matt Dawson (c), 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Will Greenwood, 14 Jason Robinson, 15 Iain Balshaw
Reserves: Kyran Bracken, Austin Healey, Graham Rowntree, Dorian West, Lewis Moody
Unused: Matt Perry, Steve Borthwick
Referee: Honiss p.
Points Scorers:
Ireland
Tries: Wood K.G.M. 1
Pen K.: Humphreys D.G. 3, O'Gara R.J.R. 2
England
Tries: Healey A.S. 1
Pen K.: Wilkinson J.P. 3
