The Albany Gazette - Ireland v England in Six Nations: What they said

"You could not make this up, it is like living in a dream. We did not play our best but what a team. What a group of coaches. We did nothing that they told us, in fact the exact opposite but we made things hard for ourselves. England are a top class team. To get a win on St Patrick's weekend is unbelievable. We did not quite nail it, but we did enough."

-- Ireland captain Johnny Sexton

"Hopefully there's bigger fish to fry for Johnny with the World Cup. It's unbelievable for him to have this moment and lift the trophy. He wanted to lift it with someone else and I said he mustn't. He deserves it. What a way for him to go out of the Six Nations."

-- Ireland coach Andy Farrell, also father of England captain and fly-half Owen

"You want to be an Irish rugby player but you also want to be a successful one. A Grand Slam is really special for this whole country. I'm really proud of all the boys. I think we're going (from) strength to strength, learning valuable lessons. I don't think we played our best game today but you have to be able to win games, no matter which way."

-- Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan, who scored two tries against England

"One of the best nights of our careers. It was all about delivering today and attacking. We didn't get it quite right to start with but we found a way. There was a bit of pressure but there's pressure in every game you play for Ireland. We were a little bit off quieter in the first half so we're delighted to get the result. This day is really special."

-- Ireland lock James Ryan

"First of all congratulations to Ireland. Winning a Grand Slam is special. I thought we showed a tremendous amount of fight. We probably gave away too many penalties. The game changed with the (red) card (for England full-back Freddie Steward) but we still showed a lot of fight to stick in it."

-- England captain Owen Farrell expressing his pride in the team after their record 53-10 home defeat by France last week

"Freddie Steward is not a dirty player, he's not going out to hurt the player. By the letter of the law, it's a red card, but in terms of a rugby incident I think it's a yellow card at best and just shake hands and move on."

-- England's 2003 World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward on Steward's dismissal on the stroke of half-time after he made contact with the head of Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan

"There is a duty of care on the defender that he can't lead with a shoulder like that. He catches him square in the head and (referee) Jaco Peyper probably came to the right decision, albeit it's a really tough one to take."

-- Ireland great Brian O'Driscoll on the sending off of Steward

"I'm proud of the way England fronted up but they gave away far too many penalties. Their ill-discipline kept giving easy ball to Ireland. A good performance by England but the focus should be on this tremendous Irish side. I just cannot see anyone beating the Irish. They are head and shoulders ahead. This Ireland team have what it takes, not just to win the Six Nations, but the World Cup as well."

-- England's 2003 World Cup-winning scrum-half Matt Dawson

(T.Burkhard--BBZ)