John O'Sullivan talks to several of the chief players in one of Ireland's more stirring victories

The shy grin, the slightly abbreviated wave and clap bespoke a touch of embarrassment. Shane Byrne was unsure of how he should respond in acknowledging the standing ovation he received when he was called ashore after 64 minutes of yesterday's RBS Six Nations Championship victory over Wales at Lansdowne Road.

There was genuine warmth to the applause as the supporters offered an appreciation to an unsung tradesman of the pack. It was there that Ireland threw down the gauntlet to the Welsh and it was the Irish eight that underpinned the win.

"I didn't know what to do, whether to clap or wave. The Lansdowne crowd were absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Coming off the pitch and getting that cheer was fantastic."

Byrne would be the first to dole out the kudos for the two tries that he claimed as the Irish pack outmuscled their counterparts in classic fashion from a couple of lineouts. "It was something that we knew we had to do to take it to them up front. It was a very strong Welsh pack. The guys in front of me did absolutely superbly in the maul.

"The space just opened up and it was a dream come true. I kept thinking that the ref was going to blow the whistle or something like that was about to happen. I thought someone was going to close the gap but they didn't and it was fantastic. I'm always looking through to see what is going on. Anthony Foley was screaming, just as I had decided to go, 'Go, go, go'."

For a player with just one previous international try to his credit, yesterday will take some trumping. "Well I don't score that many tries. Underage stuff was probably the last time I managed a couple. It's absolutely fantastic. Putting on the green jersey at any stage is a joy but to score two tries is unbelievable.

"(For the second) they pulled down the maul in front of us. The guys stayed strong in front of me and I saw that there was a bit of a gap. It was a bit more work (than the first) but luckily it came off."

Ireland's man of the match accepted that it was something of a cathartic display from the pack after the disappointment of losing in Paris when the Irish eight had played well. England will pose different problems.

"There is only one way to go when you're up against a strong pack and that is to get up at them and into them.

"If you stand back, a pack, especially like England's, will cause you huge problems. We had the ball for an awful long time so it's a lot harder to defend for that length of time than it is to attack. We knew we had to do ourselves justice after not doing it last week. We didn't do it right then and we had to take a step in the right direction."

There were several outstanding performances, notably from Ireland's new midfield of Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll, John Hayes and the entire back row of Simon Easterby, Anthony Foley and Keith Gleeson.

It was a particularly poignant win for Easterby, who plies his trade with Llanelli. He had a towering afternoon.

"We were great for 60 minutes but a bit disappointed with the last 20 because we stopped playing and went into defensive mode a bit; let them score a couple of soft tries.

"We knew we had to start well because we had the elements. We certainly set the tone from the first lineout. We didn't feel particularly tired coming into the break and wanted to accelerate in the second half. It was enjoyable but we were disappointed with the end to the game and it's something we're going to have to work on."

Another to catch the eye was D'Arcy, making a couple of searing breaks but also excelling in his defensive duties. He was unfortunate that injury denied him a place in the final quarter as he would have exploited the space that opened up. The good news is that the injury is not as bad as first feared.

"It's the same kind of thing that I did in Montferrand but to a lesser extent and on the other side. It's just bruising on my lower back, on my hip and into my groin. It'll take about three or four days of icing it. I got it in the first half and it got progressively tighter and tighter and stiffer and stiffer."

The final nail was a collision with Wales full back Gareth Thomas after another coruscating piece of running.

"It's down to the way I fell with Gareth Thomas. He fell underneath me and someone else fell on top of me and I was just shouting to get off me because it really hurt. I got up onto my knees and realised I was gone."

He briefly glimpsed the possibility of a try when making the break, offloading to Tyrone Howe and awaiting the scoring pass. "It's just disappointing. He (Howe) was just about to pass it to me and (Gareth) Cooper got him just the step before he was about to make the pass. It would have been a straight run-in."

Of his second break he admitted: "Gareth Thomas was trying to shoulder me one way and I couldn't actually step because of my sore hip. I needed to straighten sharply and I knew it was going to hurt so I just went sideways but there was nobody there."

He revelled in his partnership with O'Driscoll. "He was at 12 sometimes, I was at 12. He was at 13, I was at 13, it was great. Defence worked really well as the two of us enjoyed the physical contact."

Not bad for a partnership forged over just two training sessions. A good day all round.