Woodward savours the victory.

England boss Clive Woodward on Sunday savoured the moment and saluted "a great all-round performance" after his players finally shrugged off their tag of Grand Slam flops.

England achieved their first championship clean sweep since 1995 and were crowned RBS Six Nations winners after crushing previously unbeaten title rivals Ireland at Lansdowne Road.

Woodward's men romped to a 42-6 victory with tries from Will Greenwood (two), Mike Tindall, Lawrence Dallaglio and Dan Luger.

They rattled up 29 unanswered second-half points, leaving Ireland crestfallen and Woodward jubilant.

It was England's 11th successive Test match victory, equalling their record set in 2000 and 2001, and also erased painful memories of three final-hurdle Grand Slam failures in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

"It was a great all-round performance," said Woodward as the celebrations began. "We will enjoy it, but our feet are firmly on the floor.

"Today was about winning, nothing else, and we are very pleased.

"It was a goal at the start of the season for the whole team and coaches to try and nail down the Grand Slam. We had to win today.

"The ramifications of losing would have been huge, but I think that we have got a big-match team and the preparation was excellent this week," he said.

Referring to England's recent Grand Slam miseries, Woodward added: "It has never been a monkey on the back to me.

"We have learnt the lessons brilliantly well and we will keep learning, and this is a great boost for us in 2003 - it puts a spring in the step."

Woodward paid tribute to all his players, but highlighted the significant contributions made by man of the match Jonny Wilkinson and Dallaglio.

"Jonny was outstanding, and it was Lawrence's best game for England for a long, long time. I am also especially pleased for captain Martin Johnson."

Although England ran away with it in the end, they were only 13-6 up at half-time, and Woodward said: "It was a very tough match.

"I don't think that the scoreline reflects the game, but the result today shouldn't diminish what Ireland have done this season - you don't win four out of four by being a bad team.

"For us, if we had lost today, then it would have been a very tough year for us all.

"I couldn't have put more pressure on the team today if I had tried, and today was a great result.

"I am delighted with the way everyone responded. I was very confident of winning this game - it would have been very tough to recover if we hadn't won this one.

"I am delighted for the players - they deserved today."

Ireland rugby coach Eddie O'Sullivan installed England as favourites for the World Cup later this year after seeing his side overwhelmed.

"They are the number one team in the world and they are right on top of their game," said O'Sullivan.

"They defended very well and in the second-half they strangled us up front and struck at critical moments. Tindall's try especially was a stake in the heart.

"They have seen everyone off in the autumn and seen everyone off in the spring. With that sort of form over the year they must be favourites for the World Cup."

O'Sullivan admitted his side were beaten by the "better team" and conceded that Jonny Wilkinson, England's man-of-the-match fly-half, was "outstanding".

"We feel down and we are very disappointed," said O'Sullivan. "But if anyone had told me last August that we would play 11 matches and have won 10 I'd say that's not a bad run.

"We need to be crisper and have better lines of running and we need to be more clinical against the top teams.

"It was gut-wrenching stuff at the end but it has taken England a few years to get to this point. I told the lads to hold their heads high and stick out their chests because they can be proud of themselves."

Irish captain and centre Brian O'Driscoll also acclaimed England's impressive performance.

"We gave everything we had and tried hard but they proved why they are the number one side in the world," said O'Driscoll.

"It was end-to-end stuff and we were struggling at first with the tempo of the game. It was very fast, the quickest I've played in the Six Nations.

"Their scrambling defence was excellent. It is one of their great strengths and one of the best you'll come across.

"They get their big guys around the rucks and their fastest players out wide and their organisation is fantastic."

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