By Jim Stokes BBC Sport

For one brief milli-second I detected a tear in Eddie O'Sullivan's normal steely-eyed composure as he held aloft the once mythical Triple Crown.

Eddie O'Sullivan shows off the Triple Crown to the Ireland fans

Mind you, even the usually unruffled exterior of the Ireland coach had no option but to be emotional after his side had defeated the old enemy England in the most dramatic of circumstances amidst the bedlam at Twickenham.

It was the culmination of a season that had seen Ireland start with two devastating defeats by New Zealand and Australia and ended by seeing off the world champions.

A second Triple Crown in three years, eight in all for the Irish and now for the first time, a piece of silverware sitting on the sideboard at 62 Lansdowne Road as proof.

Lucky? You make your own luck, just as Ireland did. It was not luck that Ireland had in Shane Horgan a 6ft 4in right wing who has hands big enough to cradle a ball and can stretch his height.

Anyway, it was O'Sullivan's side, and not England, as some have erroneously said, who played all the rugby. The result was never in doubt!

England might have had territorial and possessional advantage, but they did not exactly cover themselves in glory with the ball in hand.

There can be no doubt that it was a different Ireland who started back in November. O'Sullivan wanted a change in style, and he admitted that it would take time.

Playing a wider game, Ireland attempted to concentrate on working the outside channels with the dangerous, quick, flat ball rather than grunting and boring their way through the packed close-in defenders.

He upped the basic skills, made the players more responsible on the field in terms of creating and utilising space. In other words, thinking on the hoof.

O'SULLIVAN'S RECORD 2002-2006 Played: 54, Won: 38, Lost: 16 Points For: 1563, Against: 1044 Six Nations record: 2 Triple Crowns; 3 times runners-up

That change of rugby genre does not materialise overnight. Change takes time as Ireland showed when the RBS Six Nations kicked off against Italy in February.

Mind you, after watching Italy grow in stature through the competition, Ireland's 26-16 victory was not as hairy as it first looked.

A high-tempo game does have its drawbacks. Basic skills of passing, handling and kicking need to be that much sharper. Ireland took 40 minutes to adjust against France by which time they were 29-3 down.

O'Sullivan did not castigate his players, but instead encouraged them to continue playing the same game plan, but this time cut out the errors.

They did that, and one of the greatest turnarounds of the tournament unfolded.

Ireland then ground Wales into complete submission at Lansdowne Road, and, although the result was in doubt until the end, Scotland were next to fall in the last Six Nations game at the present dilapidated stadium.

On to Twickenham with the unsteady Cheltenham hoards arriving en masse with empty wallets, but hearts filled with hope as Ireland's season reached a crescendo.

Shane Horgan stretches over the line for the winning try

It was to those raucous fans that O'Sullivan shed a tear and saluted at the end, after a third straight victory over England for the first time since the mid-1970s.

Maybe his emotions were for those critics who for some bizarre reason were attempting to unseat the man from Youghal in Co Cork.

He is the most successful Ireland coach ever. Since he took over from Warren Gatland at the end of 2001, O'Sullivan has been in charge for 54 games, winning 38 and losing 16.

In five Six Nations championship campaigns, he has lost only seven out of 25 games.

The highly organised, Teflon-coated coach with an honours degree in physical education, maths and science was not put off by the negative vibes.

He answered his detractors, some of whom seem to have their own private agendas, in style

The critics are right to point out that Ireland are far from the finished article, but they are in the heading in the right direction.

O'Sullivan's task is now to move Ireland another notch up the ladder. There are some areas that need to be addressed before he can be confident of progressing further than Ireland have ever done before in the World Cup.

Talk of a semi-final place is already being mooted - a bit premature to say the least.

Only after they have had two cracks at New Zealand and another at Australia this summer can one really judge how far this Irish team can go.