Irish earn right to dream of title after convincing win over Wales
Warburton concedes his men in red were simply outplayed by a ‘fantastic’ Ireland team
Ireland ended Welsh dreams of a record third Six Nations title in a row, with a clinical 26-3 home win at Dublin's Lansdowne Road.
Warren Gatland's men simply never got close to the hosts, who tactically outmanoeuvred the men in red.
Ireland have not begun a Six Nations with back-to-back victories since the Grand Slam year of 2009, but this convincing result, following on from their 28-6 opening win over Scotland, will have Joe Schmidt's side dreaming of emulating that campaign.
It puts us in great heart for what will be a tremendous challenge against England at Twickenham in a fortnight
"Well it always helps to have the first two games at home and we would be disappointed not to have four points," said Ireland's outstanding captain Paul O'Connell, who returned after withdrawing from his team's opener due to a chest infection.
"Still, it puts us in great heart for what will be a tremendous challenge against England at Twickenham in a fortnight."
Jonny Sexton's boot dominated the game, but the performances of Peter O'Mahony, O'Connell, Andrew Trimble and Rob Kearney will give England boss Stuart Lancaster plenty to ponder ahead of the clash at Twickenham in two weeks.
"It was a very disciplined performance," said O'Connell. "We were excellent all round, but from now on it gets a lot harder."