2009 Lion Tommy Bowe was delighted to finish a frustrating RBS 6 Nations on a high by crushing England’s Grand Slam hopes.
Bowe grabbed Ireland's first try as they cruised to victory over Martin Johnson's England. The victory saw Ireland finish third in the Championship table while England still clinched the title.
Bowe reckons the triumph restored the pride in Irish rugby and hopes they can now continue in their winning ways.
"We only had two wins coming into this match and we're a better team than that. We're also a better team than only having three wins," said Bowe.
"We've lost a few matches that we were disappointed about.
"We weren't far off before but against England we played with an intensity and passion that the Ireland team is renowned for.
"We've scored tries in the last few weeks but maybe haven't played with the sort of passion and pride that Irish teams are renowned for.
"This game brought it out of us. You could tell that from the first five minutes. Winning that scrum really gave us a huge lift.
"It's just disappointing that we had to wait until the last game of the campaign to put in a full 80-minute performance, but it was a nice one to finish with."
Bowe admits Ireland were fired up following their controversial 19-13 defeat to Wales.
"We didn't need words to be geared up for this match," added Bowe.
"The disappointment of last week was pretty big and we knew that having England at home was going to be massive.
"We haven't had the best record since the Aviva opened and this will be a new start. Now we want to turn it into a fortress."
