Ireland beat England to seal Grand Slam

Ireland secured their third Six Nations grand slam in emphatic style yesterday when, on a St Patrick’s Day to remember, they overwhelmed defending champions England 24-15 to join the men of 1948 and 2009 in the country’s rugby hall of fame.
The Irish made light of sleet and biting wind and an England team desperate to avoid a third successive defeat as they deservedly led 21-5 at halftime with tries by Garry Ringrose, CJ Stander and the prolific Jacob Stockdale.
England, unbeaten at home in the Six Nations since 2012, managed tries by Elliot Daly in each half and another in stoppage time by Jonny May but always looked second-best.
Wales edged France 14-13 later to finish second in the Six Nations behind Grand Slam winners Ireland. The win left Wales on 15 points, with Scotland finishing third, France fourth, England fifth and Italy with the wooden spoon.
Scotland defeated Italy 20-27 earlier in the day. England finished outside the top three for the first time in 12 years and end as low as fifth - their worst performance in 35 years.
“Words can’t describe how delighted we are,” said Ireland captain Rory Best. “We knew it would be a tough task to come here and win. It was a ferocious test match. We had to make every moment count and we knew the reward would be worth the massive effort required.”
A year ago in Dublin Ireland ended English grand slam hopes by handing Eddie Jones his first defeat as England coach and on Saturday they rubbed it in by giving him his first at Twickenham.
The Australian’s oft-stated aim has been to build England into a team capable of challenging New Zealand as the best in the world but at the moment they have dropped so far off the pace that they are not even close to being the best in Europe.
That honour goes to Ireland, deserved champions - though the grand slam looked a long way away when they began the 41-phase move that ended with a Jonny Sexton drop goal to snatch victory in their first match away to France.
They had no need for such heroics on Saturday, however, as they were rarely troubled at a ground where they had lost on three of their last four visits.
It was all Ireland in the opening 20 minutes as they built a 14-0 lead that England could hardly complain about.

BLASTED THROUGH
First the TMO ruled that Ringrose had fairly reached the ball after Anthony Watson spilled a Sexton up and under before Stander skidded into the base of a post after Bundee Aki had blasted through the English midfield. England finally roused themselves with a series of driving mauls that created space for Owen Farrell to find with a deft kick for Daly to reach on the left wing.
But just as the crowd were getting ready for halftime with the game delicately poised at 14-5, the visitors struck in stoppage time with a knockout blow.
The TMO again ruled in their favour as Stockdale knocked on - legally - with his knee before diving on the ball for his 11th try in his nine internationals to send Ireland in 21-5 ahead.
England, seeking to avoid a third successive defeat in the competition for the first time since 2006, came out full of fire in the second half but came up against the disciplined, organised and hugely motivated defence that has been a key aspect in Ireland’s march to the title.
As Ireland stood firm, the thousands of their fans were ensuring it was the St Patrick’s Day of a lifetime as the sounds of their “Fields of Athenry” anthem rang around the ground and the volume was cranked up further when a Conor Murray penalty after an hour stretched the lead to 19. A great backhand pass by Mike Brown sent Daly over and May had the last word with England’s third try.
But, summing up England’s day and entire championship, Farrell uncharacteristically failed to convert any of them and the score did nothing other than slightly delay the Irish celebrations.
“We gave them too many penalties at the start of the game and allowed them to build a lead,” Jones said.
“They are a good tough team, very worthy grand slam champions and they’ve performed extremely well today.”
Italy coach Conor O’Shea conceded he was “destroyed” as Scotland snatched a last-gasp 29-27 win to break Italian hearts. Italy had dominated, leading 17-12 at half-time but suffered their 17th straight defeat after a 79th minute penalty by Greig Laidlaw handed Scotland third place in the tournament as the Italians finished with the wooden spoon for the third time in five years.
“I’m destroyed for the lads and the fans but we’ve seen our future, the style and the game that we want, the quality of our young players,” said Italy coach Conor O’Shea.
“There’s so many positives. I’m really, really proud of our players they put in a great performance, and played some amazing rugby.”
Scotland’s slim title hopes had been extinguished with defeat to Ireland last week but they propelled themselves up the table from fifth to third after home wins against France and England.
“This win is as valuable as the win against England,” said Scotland coach Gregor Townsend, whose side claimed their first away championship win since beating Italy two years ago.
“Italy were in control for most of the game, but our fitness was a factor and we dominated the second half,” he added.
“It’s good for us to get three wins. It’s not often that happens in the Six Nations.”
Italy finish bottom of the table for the third straight year with five defeats in five games, with captain Sergio Parisse suffering his 100th Test defeat.