O'Gara saw his attempted clearance charged down by prop Gethin Jenkins when the scores were still level at 3-3 to gift Wales a 10-3 lead they never looked back from.

The 28-year-old can take heart, however, from the fact he finished top scorer in the championship, holding on to top spot after amassing 60 points, and missing just seven of his 20 goal attempts.

Wales' Stephen Jones who, along with Jonny Wilkinson, is O'Gara's biggest challenger for a Lions' Test team spot this June, finished second with 22 successes for a 57-point return.

O'Gara told told Irish rugby website www.irishrugby.ie: ''The charge-down try was a killer. I didn't see him (Gethin Jenkins) and that made it 10-3, after we had started the game well.

''We were chasing the game from then on, but every time we got into a good position we gave away a penalty.

''But the better team won on the day.''