Wilkinson misses difficult conversionIreland 6 England 3586 Dan Luger scores try after a flowing move Wilkinson kicks the conversionF-t: Ireland 6 England 42. Ireland had their dreams and, for some forlornly fleeting moments, the loveliest of running skill, but England had their method and a will that was simply unbreakable. Jonny Wilkinson convertsIreland 3 England 716 Humphreys miscues and kicks a straightforward penalty wide of the posts26After missing two penalty attempts, Humphreys lands his third from 50 metresIreland 6 England 729 Wilkinson extends England's lead, kicking a drop goal with his right footIreland 6 England 1040As the interval approaches, Wilkinson lands another drop goal with his right footH-t: Ireland 6 England 1343 Wilkinson kicks another drop goal, but the score is ruled out because of a prior infringement59 Mike Tindall scores a try. Drop goals: Wilkinson 2.Half-time: 6-13 Att: 42,000IRELAND: G Murphy (Leicester); J Bishop (London Irish), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), K Maggs (Bath), D Hickie (Leinster); D Humphreys (Ulster), P Stringer (Munster); M Horan (Munster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), G Longwell (Ulster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), V Costello (Leinster), K Gleeson (Leinster), A Foley (Munster).

Replacements: P O'Connell (Munster) for Longwell, 56; R O'Gara (Munster) for Humphreys, 63; A Quinlan (Munster) for Costello, 68; J Fitzpatrick (Ulster) for Horan, 75; G Dempsey (Leinster) for O'Driscoll, 82.ENGLAND: J Lewsey (Wasps); J Robinson (Sale), M Tindall (Bath), W Greenwood (Harlequins), B Cohen (Northampton); J Wilkinson (Newcastle), M Dawson (Northampton); G Rowntree (Leicester), S Thompson (Northampton), J Leonard (Harlequins), M Johnson (Leicester, capt), B Kay (Leicester), R Hill (Saracens), N Back (Leicester), L Dallaglio (Wasps). Replacements: J Worsley (Wasps) for Hill, 22-29; K Bracken (Saracens) for Dawson, 25-34 and 68-71; T Woodman (Gloucester) for Rowntree, 35-40 and 46; D Grewcock (Bath) for Kay, 45-52; P Grayson (Northampton) for Wilkinson, 45-61; D Luger (Harlequins) for Tindall, 68.Referee: J Kaplan (South Africa).COUNTDOWN TO VICTORY HOW WOODWARD'S MEN TRIUMPHED IN DUBLIN1min: David Humphreys fails with ambitious penalty kick for Ireland from inside his own half4Ireland take the lead as Humphreys kicks a drop goal from 25 metresIreland 3 England 08 Lawrence Dallaglio scores try after Matt Dawson's break. Why not, indeed?Ireland 6 Penalty: Humphreys Drop goal: HumphreysEngland 42 Tries: Dallaglio, Tindall, Greenwood 2, Luger Conversions: Wilkinson 3, Grayson Penalty: Wilkinson. The question now is whether England can find their way into a World Cup final in Sydney in November "Why not?" asked Woodward.

The Leicester full-back ran England ragged at times, and if some of his decision-making was less than perfect, it was compelling to watch a wonderfully inventive player stretching himself to breaking point. Yet even when the Irish were at their most threatening, the important scoring was being done by their opponents. The first-half yielded a sucker-punch try by Lawrence Dallaglio and two right-footed drop goals from the left-footed Wilkinson. By the break, Ireland had only six points from the boot to show for their considerable efforts.If Dallaglio was the top-of-the-bill act by some distance, it became clearer by the minute that the Irish could not handle Johnson, Hill or Steve Thompson, either. Having entered stage right, they were damned if they were going to move 10 metres to the left of half-way, just to please the Irish presidential entourage. The hosts had taken the field in forthright fashion, neglecting to run around the military band and running straight through them instead.