BOB CASEY DIARY:Ireland played close to their effervescent and hard-nosed best and England simply could not live with them, they were rattled from the start

ENGLAND’S CREDENTIALS as Grand Slam aspirants were examined thoroughly at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening and on closer inspection were returned to them having been denied admittance to that select coterie of teams to have achieved a flawless record in the tournament.

Hindsight invariably offers 20/20 vision but there have been clues to the English fallibility right through the Six Nations. They beat an Italian team who produced their worst performance by far that day and they weren’t tested by a misfiring French side whose results have shown just what a state of flux they’re in.

They limped past Scotland and only in the Welsh game did they mix strength of spirit with the quality of performance.

Saturday though was always going to be their big test; it was going to be a barometer of where England stood, not only in terms of this tournament but also going into a World Cup later in the year.

Turning up and showing their mettle in Dublin was a minimum requirement for a team who want to compete in a meaningful way at the World Cup. To render a true evaluation Ireland needed to play close to their effervescent and hard-nosed best and this they did in spades. England could not live with them.

The visitors were rattled from the start and one cameo offers a graphic illustration of that unease. Chris Ashton became involved in something of a feud with the Irish outhalves, first being penalised for a high tackle on Jonathan Sexton and then exchanging words as the pair ran towards the halfway line and then later with Ronan O’Gara.

Ashton lost the plot after O’Gara cleaned him out at a ruck and spent the next few seconds arguing while most people will have noted the Irishman’s wink to a team-mate picked up on camera as he ran back to call the next play. Ashton was still seething, intent on personal retribution while O’Gara was more concerned with focusing on the team dynamic.

If you take random comparisons between players you’ll see how much Ireland dominated individually and collectively. Tom Wood put in a huge effort but he was completely outplayed by David Wallace. Ben Youngs is a talented 21-year-old scrumhalf with a burgeoning reputation but denied the armchair ride by his pack he found it tough going; so too Toby Flood who has a long way to go in his development and who was completely eclipsed by Sexton.

Youngs simply could not function on the back foot. In previous matches he had several players coming round the corner to take his offloads but on Saturday it was one or, in some cases, none. He didn’t have those options. Flood struggled to cope with Ireland’s aggressive defensive line and ended up having to throw high, loopy passes that allowed the home side to drift onto the intended recipients.

Martin Johnson should have found out more about his players in this defeat than he might have done had they won. He is now aware of a lack of leaders because that’s what all great teams must possess. Mike Tindall would have been missed as a player, particularly in defence, but more so for his leadership skills.

Take for example stand-in captain Nick Easter’s constant questioning of Bryce Lawrence’s decisions and the contrast with Brian O’Driscoll. The Irish captain knew how to handle the referee correctly and that’s an important asset. It is human nature to be more receptive to respectful inquiries than it is to someone seeking to question every second decision. I thought England were mentally weak and fazed by the occasion.

I know from playing in England that the English players and management do hold the Ireland team in high regard collectively and individually in recognition of what they have achieved over the past decade or so.

Matt Banahan started his career as a secondrow in the London Irish academy and in strength terms he was a beast but rugby is not about how much you can bench press. He received an education in centre play on Saturday.

One occasion saw him running across the pitch with two players outside. He was looking to try to run over Ireland’s captain but O’Driscoll just shepherded Banahan, timing his side-on tackle and dumping him over the sideline.

I thought my club-mate, Alex Corbisiero, was one of England’s better performers on the day but he was dominated in the tight by Mike Ross, who is closing in on the title of the most valuable player in Irish rugby.

Ireland were brighter, more skilful and the players channelled aggression in the right way. There was ferocity in the way Ireland competed but it was a means to an end rather than a testosterone contest. In recent weeks I have spoken about the “spider” technique at ruck time – Gordon D’Arcy and Paul O’Connell excelled in this respect – and last week about “choking” at the breakdown.

England had to commit four or five players to win ball at ruck time whereas in previous matches they relied on generally just two. This meant Youngs’ options were significantly curtailed and he was made to look ordinary during his time on the pitch.

In terms of performance Ireland finished the tournament in the right way, delivering a more substantial display than the cameos of excellence that had flecked previous performances.