Captain Sam Warburton hailed spoiling Ireland's Grand Slam hopes as among his best moments in Test rugby after Wales' stubborn 23-16 victory in Cardiff.
Samson Lee could miss the rest of the tournament with an Achilles tendon injury, but Wales coach Warren Gatland is holding out hope the prop has not suffered a full tear.
Wales could yet claim the Six Nations title with a hefty victory over Italy in Rome next weekend but must do so without Gethin Jenkins, who suffered a hamstring problem.
Lock Luke Charteris made a startling 37 tackles as Wales thumped themselves and Ireland into a standstill: Warburton made 30 tackles himself in his record 34th Test as Wales skipper.
“That was as satisfying as the win we had against South Africa in the autumn, England in 2013 and probably the quarter-final against Ireland in 2011,” said Warburton. “And that’s because Ireland are that good: they had won 10 in a row and they are third in the world.
“So we knew it had to be one of our very best performances that we’ve had to get a win today. They were chasing a Grand Slam and they had all the motivation in the world as well. I was on the floor at the end of the game, I looked up and I saw (referee) Wayne Barnes’ arm rise for our side, and I just punched the air on the floor.
Extremely happy
“It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in a Wales shirt so I’m extremely happy with that. The reason we made that many tackles was because Ireland kept the ball extremely well. Particularly in the second half, they just kept coming and went so many phases and defensive sets; the second half was probably one of the most exhausted I’ve been ever in an international match.
“And the players were still talking to get up on your feet, the attitude and defensive effort was second to none. Shaun (Edwards) has gone into detail in the week to cover their trick plays and what they do in attack. The boys took on all that information and detail and it definitely paid off.
“Certain matches you can tell the players are extremely focused. You could tell it was one of those days where everyone was so desperate to get the result, going down to breakfast today, so it was so satisfying to get that in the end.”
Proud of Wales’ tactical homework to dominate the set-piece battle, Warren Gatland sarcastically played down his role. “I’m only a simple Kiwi boy,” said Gatland with a smirk. “We’ve been working hard to improve that aspect of our game.
“That’s been a strength of Ireland for a long time, so I thought (Luke) Charteris was brilliant today. We got Sam (Warburton) up there in pressure situations. So when you spend a week together it doesn’t happen but when you spend a month together and work on it every day it can come to fruition.
“A couple of times we’ve been close in other games, but today it was outstanding. But three or four turnovers at lineout time, their lineout success rate was at 67 per cent and I think that’s probably the lowest it’s ever been in recent years. And for us it was about getting those mauls and not allowing Ireland to play with any momentum.”
Gatland admitted experienced prop Jenkins will "probably" miss the trip to Rome next weekend, with young props Rob Evans and Aaron Jarvis now likely to be pressed into service from the off. He continues to hold out hope that Scarlets tighthead Lee's Achilles injury is not a long-term problem.
