England seem to beat themselves up in a different way after every performance – too much putting boot to ball one week, not enough kicking the next – but a few words from the Ireland head coach, Declan Kidney, summed up the difference in approach between the men in white and most of their leading rivals.

"There is no set study in how to do it," Kidney said, when asked about his side's playing philosophy. When Ireland fell behind on Saturday, with five minutes left, there was no panic. Ronan O'Gara kicked them into England's 22, Leo Cullen exerted pressure on the England lineout and Jonny Wilkinson was hustled into a clearance that only gained a few metres. Tommy Bowe scored the winning try from the resulting throw.

"It's all about making the right calls," said Kidney, who made a big one by bringing on O'Gara, who was heavily criticised after the defeat in Paris in the previous game, for the finale, at fly-half and in place of the less experienced Johnny Sexton. "We did not see much of the ball but we scored three tries. We said to the players at half-time that they had to go for it but it was a win not just based on taking our chances but on defence."

Ireland have tweaked their game since winning the grand slam last season, partly because of the change in the way the breakdown is refereed, with defenders not allowed as much latitude as they have been. Running from deep is not now as hazardous and Kidney has placed emphasis on creativity. "We were low down in the try table last year but we are moving up now," he said.

So while England dominated possession and controlled the set pieces, they were outscored by three tries to one, leaving their team manager, Martin Johnson, to lament: "At times we tried to play too much and kept getting turned over on the halfway line. We should have pegged them back more and put them under pressure."

Yet while England have been criticised for the sterility of their attacking play this season, they have been hard to break down defensively. The last time they conceded three tries in a Six Nations match at Twickenham was in a 28-24 defeat by Ireland four years ago. That was a campaign which started brightly, with victories over Wales and Italy, only to fizzle out with three defeats.

Ireland's three tries were scored by their wingers, Bowe, who got the first and last, and Keith Earls. Their opposite numbers, Ugo Monye and Mark Cueto, did not receive a pass in a dangerous area as England, for all their possession, failed to create space.

"We had to win after losing in Paris otherwise the doubters would have been out in force," said Bowe. "There is still more to come from us but we know the talent we have in the squad and will always back ourselves. We are back in the title race and if it is out of our hands, we have it all to play for with two home games coming up.

"I expect England aren't too happy with our run against them, but that's the way it goes. Before the match we talked about the fact we'd beaten them five out of six times, to build up belief in ourselves. When we went behind that belief came out. We'd been in that position before and we worked out how to get ourselves out of it. They have a big pack but we gave as good as we got."

Ireland will need England to beat France in Paris on the final day. A defeat for the favourites, who face Italy next, could propel the defending champions back into contention. "It would be an odd one, an Englishman doing an Irishman a favour, but you never know," said the No8 and man of the match, Jamie Heaslip. "I can see England causing France problems, but France are very clinical. They punish mistakes. But if England play the game they did against us, controlling the pace and territory, they can neutralise a lot of France's attributes."

Heaslip paid tribute to the tighthead prop John Hayes, who at 36 years old became the first player to win 100 caps for Ireland. "John Hayes hated leading the team out – he doesn't like being made  a big deal of," said the No8. "We said during the week that for a player to have played 100 times in one position is some achievement. We wanted to do a job for him."