Ireland were never in with a sniff of gatecrashing the Welsh party after the hosts established a 16-6 half-time advantage, a lead they increased until a late rally from last years Triple Crown winners.

O'Driscoll said: ''I'm thoroughly disappointed but you have to take your hat off to Wales - they wanted it more. They capitalised on our mistakes and were very clinical, the sign of a good side.

''They have got progressively better throughout the championship and deserve their Grand Slam. They have been ruthless when they needed to be and have also shown plenty of steel as well.

''The fact they've won a Grand Slam speaks for itself. Congratulations to Mike - he's a likeable chap and that makes it a little bit easier to accept the result.''

O'Sullivan added: ''This was Wales' day, no doubt. They got a few breaks at important times but I don't want to take anything away from their performance. They deserve their Grand Slam.

''Mike has done a fantastic job. We knew we had to play out of our socks to win. It was a tough one to lose but we didn't deserve to win it. Wales are the team of the championship and worthy winners.''

O'Driscoll denied his side should have shown more ambition earlier on as the game looked to be slipping away from them and took solace from Ireland's second-half comeback.

''We were behind so threw caution to the wind and it worked, but it doesn't always happen like that. Sometimes you can end up losing by more,'' he said.

''I'm proud that we never gave up and that we scored those tries in the second half. We showed guts and pride because we didn't want to be humiliated.''