Ireland have won the RBS 6 Nations for the first time since 2009 after a pulsating 22 points to 20 win over France in Paris.
Ulster winger, Andrew Trimble, scored one of Ireland’s three tries as Joe Schmidt’s team secured the title and gave Brian O’Driscoll the perfect end to his international career.
Racing Metro outhalf, Johnny Sexton got the other two scores in the match but France never gave up and tries from Brice Dulin and Dimitri Szarzewski meant Ireland were never able to relax.
However, Ireland held on to win the match by just two points and with it the Championship.
Speaking after the game, Joe Schmidt said: ‘We have showed incredible discipline right through the tournament and I think that it was a credit to the players to retain that to the finish.
“I think across the match we deserved to win. It was three tries to two. In the context of the tournament, I didn’t care how we won as long as we got our noses in front.
Schmidt went on to praise the contribution of Andrew Trimble:
“I thought Andrew was immense tonight. He made some great decisions, he showed some great skill. His acceleration was good but across the board there was some mammoth performances.”
Trimble was joined on the winners’ podium by fellow Ulster players Rory Best, Chris Henry and Iain Henderson.
Other Ulster players also made a huge contribution during the tournament including Paddy Jackson, Dan Tuohy and Luke Marshall.
Ireland won four of their five matches and topped the table with 8 Championship points and 132 points scored.
England finished in second place, Wales were third, France fourth, Scotland fifth and Italy won the wooden spoon in sixth position.