Wales secure Triple Crown

Wales dominated the encounter yet had to wait until the 57th minute to pierce the Irish defence with the elusive Williams dancing over to wrestle the Triple Crown from their opponents.

It was the Ospreys winger's 40th Test try, equalling the record set by Gareth Thomas, and lifted his remarkable strike rate to 11 tries in eight games.

Llanelli fly-half Stephen Jones contributed two penalties and a conversion while his eventual replacement James Hook weighed in with a late three points.

Wales controlled long passages of play, refusing to give up possession, but Ireland's muscular defence held up impressively until Williams' moment of magic.

Warren Gatland had identified Ronan O'Gara as Ireland's main dangerman and his assessment was proved correct as the Munster fly-half continued his imperious run of form.

He slotted four penalties in four attempts and his kicking from hand was one of Ireland's few sources of refuge from the relentless Welsh assault.

But even the majestic O'Gara could not conjure the crucial try as the mediocrity around him ensured the Welsh line was seriously threatened only once.

Wales played a quarter of the match with 14 men following the sin-binning of Mike Phillips and Martyn Williams but Ireland could still not break through.

Williams crossed the whitewash when he took Stephen Jones' pass and slipped out of the clutches of Andrew Trimble before beating a despairing lunge from Rob Kearney.