A first Grand Slam since 1948 beckoned until their championship was shoved off track by France in their penultimate game, with Saturdays defeat in Cardiff leaving Ireland with their lowest tournament finish for three years.

With veterans such as Reggie Corrigan, Shane Byrne and Anthony Foley the wrong side of 30, doubts linger over their future - and not least because of the teams poor performance at the Millennium Stadium.

But while OConnell admitted Ireland have regressed since their glorious clean sweep in the November internationals, he dismissed suggestions that changes are inevitable.

Losing to Wales was a massive disappointment,'' said the Munster lock.

Weve gone backwards in this championship. I thought we were ready to take the next step and push on but obviously we werent.

Now we must stand back, take a look at ourselves and try to go forward again. I dont think there will be a rebuilding period. No-one has talked about retiring. It will be a gradual thing if players are replaced.

The 25-year-old British & Irish Lions Test prospect admitted Wales were worthy winners on Saturday and hailed a performance which ended a 27-year wait for Grand Slam glory.

Wales played very well and were the better team on the day. Their pack is a good unit - athletic, tidy and good at offloads. We did okay in parts but didnt control the game properly, he said.

Little mistakes kept letting them off the hook. We were playing quite well in the first half. Maybe if Girvan or Axel (Foley) had gone over in the corner it would have been a different game.

Ireland flanker and Llanelli skipper Simon Easterby joined OConnell in saluting the Welsh revival and applauded the expansive gameplan they used to complete the clean sweep.

He said: We went to Cardiff to win the game. We were defending a Triple Crown and the championship was still up for grabs. But we were outplayed by the better side.

We let Wales get too far ahead early on so we were always chasing the game and when we did hit back, it was too little too late.

They have shown greater skill and played the best football throughout the Six Nations. Theyve been in some tight games as well and have come through them.

We didnt play to our potential and Wales have, surpassing peoples expectations. They deserve their Grand Slam.