| Eddie’s ecstatic!
 Breathless,
exhausted but overjoyed Eddie O’Sullivan reluctantly hauled himself
away from the centre of the Croke Park pitch to talk to the press.
The ecstatic Cork man said: “That was a stunning, amazing game.
We controlled the match for about 75 of the 80 minutes and we never looked
like losing.
“The lads came out today thinking about how after all the fuss
they didn’t want to lose two matches at Croke Park. You saw the
look in their eyes during the anthems these lads were never going to lose
today it mattered too much to them that’s the difference.”
The returning legend Brian O’Driscoll paid tribute to the vocal
support on one of the most historic days in Irish sport.
He said “That was for the fans, for the atmosphere they created,
it was like an extra player at times and that was for the GAA who opened
the stadium for us. None of the players wanted to be on the team which
lost twice in Croke Park particularly not losing to England there.”
Some cynical observers had said that Paul O’Connell owed Ireland
three good performances, well after his man-of-the-match display against
England it could be argued that he has squared the ledger for he played
with the force, passion and skill of three men at Croke Park on Saturday.
The tears in his eyes as the National Anthem was played will linger with
Irish rugby fans for many years and the smile on his face after the final
whistle told a tale of a man who will remember this day like no other.
O’Connell said: “The lads were superb, every last one of them.
We played with all the passion, all the commitment that we said we would.
There isn’t one man who was out there who owes anyone anything.”
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