Awesome England clinch Grand Slam

England buried the ghosts of past Grand Slam failures to seal their first championship clean sweep since 1995 with an emphatic win over Ireland at Lansdowne Road.

The mishaps at Wembley, Murrayfield and Dublin two years ago were consigned to history as Clive Woodward's side swept to victory in commanding fashion.

An early try from Lawrence Dallaglio and second-half scores from Mike Tindall, Will Greenwood (2) and Dan Luger proved more than sufficient to douse the Irish fire.

Jonny Wilkinson added 15 points from two drop goals, three conversions and a penalty to secure England's 12th-ever Grand Slam.

Victory was built on a rock-solid defence, which resisted every Irish effort to unhinge it as the powerful visiting pack ground their opponents into submission.

The home side could only manage a first-half penalty and drop goal from David Humphreys, as England reeled off 29 unanswered second-half points.

Aiming for a first Grand Slam in 55 years, Ireland were quickest out of the blocks.

Humphreys fell inches short with a penalty attempt from inside his own half, but they capitalised on their early pressure in the fifth minute.

Steve Thompson's wayward line-out throw was seized on by Keith Gleeson and taken on by Marcus Horan, and with England conceding a penalty, Humphreys landed a smart drop goal.

But the visitors responded with interest and were ahead within three minutes.

A wheeled Irish scrum allowed Richard Hill to pressurize Peter Stringer, Matt Dawson pounced and his break released Dallaglio to dive over unopposed under the posts.

Wilkinson converted for a 7-3 lead, but Ireland refused to be cowed and slashing breaks from Brian O'Driscoll and the dangerous Geordan Murphy tested England's defence.

Humphreys failed to convert the pressure with a bad penalty miss after 17 minutes, and another Murphy counter broke down when the full-back failed to release Denis Hickie.

Humphreys did reduce the arrears with a 40m penalty when England were penalised at a scrummage, but the visitors started to dominate possession.

Josh Lewsey showed his confidence with an inside-outside break and Wilkinson stretched the lead to 10-6 with a right-footed drop goal just before the half-hour.

He repeated the trick in first-half injury time to give England some breathing space as the frenetic pace continued unabated.

Hill and Matt Dawson both departed for running repairs in the first period, with Graham Rowntree also forced off before the interval, to be replaced by Trevor Woodman.

Wilkinson appeared to have followed suit as he clutched his notoriously fragile shoulder on the resumption, only to regain his feet and thump over what looked a sumptuous drop goal.

But the score was ruled out for an earlier offence on the advice of a touch judge, and Ireland remained within a converted score.

Wilkinson was forced off after 54 minutes, with Paul Grayson pitched into the fray, but returned seven minutes later just as Grayson was converting Tindall's match-clinching try.

Again the forwards did the hard yards, before Grayson and Greenwood created space for the Bath centre to barge his way through the remaining cover on an angled run.

Dallaglio was held up short as England went for the kill, but instead it was Greenwood who was bundled over by his pack after 65 minutes.

Wilkinson added a penalty 10 minutes from time and Greenwood intercepted Murphy's pass to stroll over for his second in injury time.

England's superiority was confirmed as Dan Luger added a final flourish with a fifth try, Wilkinson adding the extras to spark the red rose celebrations.

The scorers:

Ireland 6:
Pens:  Humphreys
Drop goals:  Humphreys

England 42:
Tries:  Dallaglio, Tindall, Greenwood 2, Luger
Cons:  Wilkinson 3 Grayson
Pen:  Wilkinson
Drops:  Wilkinson 2

Ireland:  Ireland: G Murphy (Leicester), J Bishop (London Irish), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), K Maggs (Bath), D Hickie (Leinster), D Humphreys (Ulster), P Stringer (Munster), M Horan (Munster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), G Longwell (Ulster), V Costello (Leinster), K Gleeson (Leinster), A Foley (Munster).
Replacements:  F Sheahan (Munster), J Fitzpatrick (Ulster), P O'Connell (Munster), A Quinlan (Munster), G Easterby (Llanelli), R O'Gara (Munster), G Dempsey (Leinster).

England:  Josh Lewsey (Wasps), Jason Robinson (Sale), Will Greenwood (Harlequins), Mike Tindall (Bath), Ben Cohen (Northampton), Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle vice-captain), Matt Dawson (Northampton), Graham Rowntree (Leicester), Steve Thompson (Northampton), Jason Leonard (Harlequins), Martin Johnson (Leicester, captain), Ben Kay (Leicester), Richard Hill (Saracens), Neil Back (Leicester), Lawrence Dallaglio (Wasps)
Replacements:  Dorian West (Leicester), Trevor Woodman (Gloucester), Danny Grewcock (Bath), Joe Worsley (London Wasps), Kyran Bracken (Saracens), Paul Grayson (Northampton), Dan Luger (Harlequins).

Scotland edge fierce Italy

Scotland gave coach Ian McGeechan the perfect Six Nations send-off with a hard fought but entertaining victory over Italy on Saturday.

The former Lions coach, who began his home championship career as centre for Scotland in 1973, retires at the end of the season.

And the Scottish team made sure he left Murrayfield smiling, thanks to tries from Jason White, James McLaren, Kenny Logan and Chris Paterson.

Italy hit back through Mirco Bergamasco, Ramiro Pez and Scott Palmer but the home side held out to secure fourth position in the Six Nations table.

The Azzurri started superbly and touched over with less than five minutes on the clock.

Alessandro Troncon made the best of some quick recycled ball inside the Scotland 22 and Bergamasco's strong run gave the home side a quick reality check.

Pez failed with the extras, before the two fly-halves swapped penalties.

Scotland finally found their composure and when Bryan Redpath opted to take a quick free-kick on the Italy 10 metre line, White powered over taking most of the visiting defence with him.

At 8-8 and with an inspired Logan cutting the visitors to shreds, it was no surprise when McGeechan's team finally grabbed the lead.

Another Logan run sent Italy backwards and Gregor Townsend's long, floated pass gave McLaren space to grab his fifth international try.

Paterson's second penalty lifted Scotland eight points clear, but a moment of genius from Pez caught the Scottish defence sleeping.

A show of the ball from the Rotherham number 10 was enough to send him underneath the posts and his conversion cut the deficit to just one point.

With both sides willing to play some free-flowing rugby in the afternoon sun, Logan improved on his already impressive performance just before the break.

Taking a quick tap penalty the Wasps veteran burst through four Italian tackles for a vital try that Paterson improved on in front of the posts.

Try-scorer White limped off after the break to be replaced by Ross Beattie, as Italy started to dominate possession.

For 10 minutes the visitors bombarded the Scotland line and they were rewarded with a straightforward penalty in front of the posts.

The five-point deficit set up an intense final quarter.

But when Simon Taylor released Paterson after striding away superbly from the back of the scrum, it secured some vital breathing space.

Paterson did well to finish off the move with a delicate chip and chase and then slotted the conversion but the 12 point lead did not last long.

As they have done all season, Italy finished the match on top and with just 10 minutes to go replacement back-rower Palmer strode over for the visitors' final seven pointer.

With the match in the balance, Paterson added his third penalty in injury time to dampen Italy's hopes and ultimately relegate them to fifth place in the championship table.

The scorer:

Scotland 33:
Tries:  White, McLaren, Logan, Paterson
Con:  Paterson (2)
Pen:  Paterson (3)

Italy 25:
Tries:  Bergamasco, Pez, Palmer
Con:  Pez (2)
Pen:  Pez (2)

Scotland:  G Metcalfe, C Paterson, J McLaren, A Craig, K Logan, G Townsend, B Redpath (capt), T Smith, G Bulloch, B Douglas, S Murray, N Hines, J White, S Taylor, A Mower.
Replacements:  R Russell, G Kerr, S Grimes, R Beattie, M Blair, G Ross, K Utterson.

Italy:  M Bergamasco, P Vaccari, A Masi, G Raineri, D Dallan , R Pez, A Troncon (capt), A Lo Cicero C Festuccia, R Martinez, C Bezzi, M Giacheri, A De Rossi, A Persico, M Phillips.
Replacements:  F Ongaro, L Castrogiovanni, S Dellape, S Palmer, M Mazzantini, G Peens, N Mazzucato.

France complete Wales whitewash

Wales were condemned to their first Six Nations whitewash after being outclassed by Bernard Laporte's side in the Stade de France.

The men in red had a bright opening 20 minutes and took the lead with a superb Gareth Thomas try.

But the French forwards gradually gained the upper hand, allowing scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili to direct the show and kick 18 points.

Thomas Castaignede, Vincent Clerc and Frederic Michalak ran in tries for the home side as they secured their first win over Wales at the stadium, and handed the visitors their first wooden spoon in eight years.

Wales tore into the French in the first 20 minutes, showing the confidence garnered from their undefeated record in two previous games at the Stade de France.

A France knock on in the third minute was run back from deep in Wales' half, Craig Morgan and Iestyn Harris combining well on the left.

Colin Charvis drove on from quick recycled ball and the ball was spun out for Thomas to convert the overlap on the right, Stephen Jones sending the conversion wide.

Wales were inches away from adding a second try in the sixth minute, Morgan catching opposite number Aurelien Rougerie sleeping following a Stephen Jones kick, outsprinting him, but failing to ground the ball.

It took until the second quarter for the French to settle, but then the visitors' line-out woes creeped back into their game and Gethin Jenkins came under presure on the tighthead of the scrum, gifting Bernard Laporte's side territory and possession.

Welsh tackling was heroic, but the constant pressure had to tell.  From a forward drive in the 27th minute the ball was sent back to Castaignede and the Saracens centre cut back on the angle to score under the posts, Yachvili converting.

The young scrum-half added a penalty, but Jones missed his third kick of the half to leave the score 10-5 at the break, much to the displeasure of the expectant home crowd.

France exploded out of the blocks in the second period, a Xavier Garbajosa break taking them to the Welsh line.

Borderline defence that toyed with the sin bin and a Raphael Ibanez knock-on restricted the home team to just another Yachvili penalty.

Five minutes later another French forward drive led to recycled ball being spun slickly through the backs, reaching Vincent Clerc whose nifty footwork saw him over on the right for a converted try.

Yachvili added another penalty before Colin Charvis was sin binned n the 65th minute for coming in from the side of a ruck.

The French forwards seized the chance to drive into 14-man Wales before delivering a try on a plate to fly-half Frederic Michalak.

France coasted for the final 15 minutes, looking as they have through much of this Six Nations - barely out of first gear as they ease towards the World Cup.

Their pragmatic approach yielded a late penalty in front of the posts by Yachvili, leaving the crowd baying for more tries.

The scorers:

France 33:
Tries:  T Castaignede, V Clerc, F Michalak
Cons:  D Yachvili (3)
Pens:  Yachvili (4)

Wales 5:
Try:  G Thomas

TEAMS

France:  C Poitrenaud (Stade Toulousain), A Rougerie (Montferrand), T Castaignede (Saracens), D Traille (Pau), X Garbajosa (Stade Toulousain), F Michalak (Stade Toulousain), D Yachvili (Biarritz), J-J Crenca (Agen), R Ibanez (Castres), S Marconnet (Stade Français), F Pelous (Stade Toulousain, capt), O Brouzet (Montferrand), S Betsen (Biarritz), O Magne (Montferrand), I Harinordoquy (Pau).
Reps:  J-B Rue (Agen), O Milloud (Bourgoin), D Auradou (Stade Français), P Tabacco (Stade Français), J-B Elissalde (Stade Toulousain), G Merceron (Montferrand), V Clerc (Stade Toulousain).

Wales:  R Williams (Cardiff), C Morgan (Cardiff), M Taylor (Swansea), I Harris (Cardiff), G Thomas (Bridgend), S Jones (Llanelli), D Peel (Llanelli), I Thomas (Llanelli), M Davies (Pontypridd), G Jenkins (Pontypridd), R Sidoli (Pontypridd), G Llewellyn (Neath), C Charvis (Swansea), M Williams (Cardiff, capt), D Jones (Llanelli).
Reps:  M Madden (Llanelli), S Williams (Northampton), G Thomas (Bath), G Cooper (Bath), M Watkins (Llanelli), G Williams (Bridgend), T Shanklin (Saracens).

Ref:  Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)

France punish passionate Italy

France demolished Italy in a free-flowing game in Rome to finally show some of the form they were expected to display in this year's RBS Six Nations championship.

Tries from Serge Betsen, Damian Traille (2), Aurelien Rougerie (2), Frederic Michalak and Thomas Castaignede punished the Italians, who spent most of the first hour on the back foot.

Scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili enjoyed a superb day with the boot to finish the match with a personal tally of 18 points.

The home side did hit back through tries from Ramiro Pez, Mirco Bergamasco, Aaron Persico and Matthew Phillips.

But despite looking the better side for much of the second period were ultimately left with too much to do.

Italy struggled to gain any meaningful possession early on and the few scraps they did win were quickly turned over by an impressive French back-row.

The visitors opened the scoring after just three minutes when Traille fed Betsen who ran over for the first five pointer.

Yachvili added the extras and grabbed a further three points when Italy were penalised for hands in the ruck deep inside their 22.

At 10-0 down, John Kirwan's side looked helpless against a ferocious French onslaught.

But if the New Zealander thought it could not get any worse, Traille proved him immediately wrong with a quickfire double to punish some woeful Italian defending.

Two conversions and a late first-half penalty took Yachvili's total to 14 points before Aurelien Rougerie added France's fourth thanks to some strong running from number eight Imanol Harinordoquy.

Seconds later, Michalak added yet another after Olivier Magne charged down a poor Paolo Vaccari clearance.

With half-time approaching, Pez grabbed a consolation try after a superb individual break, but even his conversion could do little to dent an impressive French lead.

Any thoughts Italy had of regrouping were instantly dispelled when Castaignede scorched over seconds after the break.

Yachvili slotted his sixth conversion to push his side two points shy of their half-century, before Italy finally found some form.

For the best part of 10 minutes France struggled to get their hands on the ball and Bergamasco rewarded Italy's perseverance with his side's second try.

At 48-15 down there was never any doubt of an upset, but it did not stop the Azzurri from hitting back again when Persico grabbed a third for his side almost immediately from the re-start.

Pez's kick pushed his side up to 22 points -- before Rougerie ran over to ease the defending Six Nations champions past the 50-point mark.

Italy had impressed in the second-half, after a poor opening period and were not to be denied the last word, however.

With seconds remaining Philips exploited space on the blind side from a scrum on the French 10-metre line.

But depite their fightback they had let themselves down in the opening-half -- as they did against Twickenham -- a fact that will not be lost on Kirwan in the build-up to their final game against Scotland.

The scorers:

Italy 27:
Tries:  Pez, Bergamasco, Persico, Phillips
Pen:  Pez
Conv:  Pez (2)

France 53:
Tries:  Betsen, Traille (2), Rougerie (2), Michalak, Castaignede
Pen:  Yachvili (2)
Conv:  Yachvili (6)

Italy:  M. Bergamasco, Mazzucato, Vaccari, Raineri, Dallan, Dominguez, Troncon, Lo Cicero, Festuccia, Martinez, Bezzi, Giacheri, De Rossi, Persico, Phillips.
Replacements:  Ongaro, Castrogiovanni, Dellape, Palmer, Mazzantini, Pez, Masi.

France:  Poitrenaud, Rougerie, Castaignede, Traille, Garbajosa, Michalak, Yachvili, Crenca, Ibanez, Marconnet, Pelous, Brouzet, Betsen, Magne, Harinordoqui.
Replacements:  Rue, Milloud, Auradou, Tabacco, Elissalde, Merceron, Clerc.

Referee:  Nigel Williams (Wales)

England sweep Scotland aside

England booked their Six Nations Grand Slam decider against Ireland in Dublin with a hard-fought win over a passionate Scotland at Twickenham.

It was not a performance to send their fans home in raptures but 18 points from the boot of Jonny Wilkinson and tries from Josh Lewsey, Ben Cohen and Jason Robinson (2) proved enough to maintain England's date with destiny.

Scotland, for their part, performed valiantly, but they never looked able to out-wit a well organised England defence at a stadium in which they have failed to register a try since 1999.

England never managed to set Twickenham alight.  But with all eyes on Dublin, they will be happy enough to have reached the final game of the championship unscathed.

The home side ran up a quick six point lead, courtesy of sloppy Scottish defending and Wilkinson made no mistake with the resulting penalties.

Already under pressure, Scotland received a double blow when they lost two players for some dreadfully cynical play in as many minutes.

Andrew Mower was the first to see the yellow card after a high tackle on Lewsey.  Seconds later, number eight Simon Taylor was sent on his way for a wayward tackle on Mike Tindall.

Struggling in the set piece and two men down, Bryan Redpath was handsomely rewarded for a superb darting run with a penalty outside England's 22.

Paterson brought his side back within three points and from the re-start Robinson did his bit to even things up numerically, when he became the third player sent to the bin for another high tackle -- this time on winger Kenny Logan.

A fine touch-line kick from Paterson levelled the scores.

But it also prompted England's best move of the half, allowing Lewsey to grab his third try in two games when the Scottish defence finally ran out of men in the left-hand corner.

At 13-6 down, Scotland may have been behind on the scoreboard, but led by Tom Smith and Gordon Bulloch they constantly broke the gain-line and put England on the back foot.

Another Paterson penalty reduced the arrears to just four points before Wilkinson replied from in front of the posts to end an action-packed 40 minutes.

If England stuttered in the first half, they came out roaring in the second.

Ten minutes of pressure resulted in a Scottish scrum deep in their 22 and when Redpath made a mess of his attempted clearance Cohen touched over for his easiest try of the season.

Wilkinson made no mistake with the conversion and added another three to his tally virtually from the re-start when Scott Murray was penalised for offside.

With the scoreline reading 26-9 England looked more at ease.

And when Jason Robinson extended the lead with a blistering midfield run to outpace a flagging Scottish defence, Clive Woodward even opted to give Wilkinson a well deserved rest.

The Newcastle captain, who slotted his final conversion with well-practised ease, was replaced by veteran Paul Grayson, making his first start for England since 1999.

In one last push, Scotland pressed hard to force England onto the back foot, only to concede yet another seven points when Matt Dawson released Robinson inside the Scottish 22.

With only the line in front of him, the Sale flyer duly touched down for his second and Grayson's conversion pushed England three points short of their previous record before the whistle was blown.

The scorers:

England 40:
Tries:  Lewsey, Cohen, Robinson (2)
Con:  Wilkinson (3), Grayson
Pens:  Wilkinson (4)

Scotland 9:
Pens:  Paterson (3)

Teams:

England:  Lewsey, Robinson, Greenwood, Tindall, Cohen, Wilkinson, Dawson, Rowntree, Thompson, Leonard, Johnson, Kay, Hill, Back, Dallaglio.
Replacements:  Regan, Woodman, Grewcock, J. Worsley, Gomarsall, Grayson, Luger.

Scotland:  G. Metcalfe, Paterson, McLaren, Craig, Logan, Townsend, Redpath, T. Smith, Bulloch, Douglas, Murray, Hines, White, Mower, Taylor.
Replacements:  Russell, G. Kerr, Grimes, Beattie, Blair, G. Ross, Utterson.

Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland).

Irish pip Wales in thriller

An injury-time drop goal by replacement Ronan O'Gara kept Ireland's Grand Slam hopes alive at the Millennium Stadium.

The Irish looked to have blown their chances of a mouth-watering decider against England when Wales fly-half Stephen Jones flashed over a drop goal of his own in a pulsating final few minutes in Cardiff.

But O'Gara, showing immense coolness under pressure, won the day for the visitors with a vital three points inside 30 seconds of the restart.

Wales will take the plaudits for outscoring Ireland by three tries to two, but Steve Hansen's men remain bottom of the Six Nations table with one game left.

The game began as frenetically as it finished, but it was Ireland who nudged ahead after six minutes thanks to a penalty from David Humphreys.

The first try of the game came on 15 minutes, when Jones broke through from open play to scrambled over in the corner.

Jones added the touchline conversion, but within five minutes Humphreys had cut the lead to one point with his second penalty.

Humphreys pushed Ireland ahead in the 27th minute with his third penalty after another Welsh indiscretion in front of their posts.

But the visitors were not allowed to get into any sort of rhythm, with Wales playing the only decent rugby on show in the early exchanges.

Ireland finally wrestled free from the Welsh manacles in first-half injury time.

Brian O'Driscoll and Leo Cullen made tentative attempts to break through before Geordan Murphy swivelled past his defender to put flanker Keith Gleeson over in the left-hand corner.

Gleeson's second try immediately after the restart after Anthony Foley charged down a clearance kick by Tom Shanklin.

But Wales struck back on 52 minutes with a great try.

Good work by Colin Charvis and Rhys Williams allowed flanker Martyn Williams to go over for his first try for his country, with Jones adding the conversion.

O'Driscoll almost crossed before Ireland went further in front when Humphreys rifled over his fourth penalty to make the score 22-14.

Back came the home side again, with Gareth Thomas claiming his 29th try for Wales, with Jones slotting the conversion to make it a one-point game.

Jones saw a 47-metre penalty just drift wide of the right-hand upright.

But he made no mistake with a drop goal two minutes into injury time.

The kicks looked as though it had given Wales a morale-boosting victory, but Irish substitute O'Gara broke Welsh hearts with his last-gasp kick.

The scorers:

Wales 24:
Tries:  S Jones, M Williams, G Thomas
Dg:  S Jones
Cons:  S Jones 3

Ireland 25:
Tries:  Gleeson 2
Dg:  O'Gara
Pens:  Humphreys 4

Teams:

Wales:  R Williams (Cardiff), M Jones (Llanelli), M Taylor (Swansea), T Shanklin (Saracens), G Thomas (Bridgend), S Jones (Llanelli), G Cooper (Bath), I Thomas (Llanelli), J Humphreys (Bath, capt), G Jenkins (Pontypridd), R Sidoli (Pontypridd), G Llewellyn (Neath), C Charvis (Swansea), M Williams (Cardiff), D Jones (Llanelli).
Replacements:  M Davies (Pontypridd), M Madden (Llanelli), S Williams (Northampton), G Thomas (Bath), D Peel (Llanelli), I Harris (Cardiff), M Watkins (Llanelli).

Ireland:  G Murphy (Leicester), J Bishop (London Irish), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), K Maggs (Bath), D Hickie (Leinster), D Humphreys (Ulster), P Stringer (Munster), M Horan (Munster), S Byrne (Leinster), J Hayes (Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), L Cullen (Leinster), A Quinlan (Munster), K Gleeson (Leinster), A Foley (Munster).
Replacements:  F Sheahan (Munster), J Fitzpatrick (Ulster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), E Miller (Leinster), G Easterby (Llanelli), R O'Gara (Munster), J Kelly (Munster).

Referee:  Steve Lander (England).

England overpower brave Italy

England strolled to a six-try RBS Six Nations victory over Italy at Twickenham despite defending for most of the match.

Clive Woodward's side extended their winning streak at headquarters to 20 games, and stayed on course for a Grand Slam decider with Ireland on 30 March.

England raced to a 33-0 lead within 20 minutes but went into their shells as the plucky Italians dominated possession for over 50 minutes.

The home side scored tries through Josh Lewsey (2), Steve Thompson, James Simpson-Daniel, Mike Tindall and Dan Luger.

But in a chaotic start to the second half they lost fly-half and captain Jonny Wilkinson with a sore shoulder and his replacement Charlie Hodgson with a leg injury.

Italy scored a second-half consolation try through full-back Mirco Bergamasco but despite their possession, coach John Kirwan's side were never likely to trouble the Six Nations favourites.

England set off at a blistering pace and within two minutes they had put full-back Lewsey over in the left corner from an attacking lineout on the right.

Wilkinson converted and the home side soon scored again after opting to kick for touch from a penalty.

Number eight Lawrence Dallaglio and scrum-half Matt Dawson both sniped for the line before hooker Thompson squeezed over.

Italy were shellshocked and England came again inside three minutes when the backs combined to send over wing Simpson-Daniel after a perfectly timed pass from Lewsey.

Wilkinson was again spot on with the extras and before Italy knew what was happening, England's Lewsey had made it four tries.

The Wasps player broke a tackle in midfield and motored 40 yards, teasing Bergamasco in the process, to score just to the left of the posts, which Wilkinson converted.

Italy had still barely touched the ball but England went over for a fifth try on 20 minutes through centre Tindall, who took an inside pass at pace from Lewsey to roar over.

But despite a 33-0 deficit, Italy dominated the rest of the half and went close through Aaron Persico and Bergamasco.

Two minutes after the break England lost Wilkinson, who went off with a sore shoulder, to be replaced by Hodgson.

But the Sale fly-half was in turn injured, ushering in 20-year-old Leicester centre Ollie Smith, with Will Greenwood switching to number 10 and former captain Dallaglio taking charge.

Italy continued to attack, with England seemingly content to defend phase after phase.

Kirwan's side were eventually rewarded for their attacking efforts with a try in the corner from Bergamasco on the hour.

But after defending since the 20th minute, England scored a sixth try through Luger after a slick break from Smith.

And despite a merry-go-round of replacements, England were able to keep Italy at bay for the rest of the match without troubling the visitors' line themselves.

The scorers:

England 40
Tries:  Lewsey (2), Thompson, Simpson-Daniel, Tindall, Luger
Cons:  Wilkinson (4), Dawson

Italy 5
Tries:  Bergamasco

Teams:

England:  Lewsey, Simpson-Daniel, Greenwood, Tindall, Luger, Wilkinson, Dawson, Rowntree, Thompson, Morris, Grewcock, Kay, J. Worsley, Hill, Dallaglio.
Replacements:  Regan, M. Worsley, Shaw, Sanderson, Bracken, Hodgson, Smith.

Italy:  M. Bergamasco, Mazzucato, Vaccari, Raineri, Dallan, Pez, Troncon, De Carli, Festuccia, Martinez, Bezzi, Giacheri, De Rossi, Persico, Phillips.
Replacements:  Ongaro, Castrogiovanni, Bortolami, Palmer, Mazzantini, Peens, Masi.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Scots punish woeful Wales

In a game that had been billed as a wooden spoon play-off, Scotland finally found their RBS Six Nations feet to bury Wales with a dominant forward display.

The defeat leaves Steve Hansen's heavily-criticised Wales side facing games against Ireland and France to restore some pride from a miserable campaign.

A powerful performance from Scotland's front five, coupled with dynamic displays from Simon Taylor, James White and Andrew Mower in the back row, was just enough to give the home side the much-needed victory.

The Welsh did rally in the second half -- and claimed two consolation tries at the death -- but it was a case of too little too late.

Scotland opened the scoring in the fifth minute when wing Chris Paterson slotted over a penalty after an infringement by Welsh prop Ben Evans.

Their slender lead took on a more substantial look when Scottish prop Bruce Douglas drove over following good work from the home pack.

Although it is unlikely to feature in many Six Nations highlights packages, Douglas' try was, nonetheless, the first Scotland had managed this year.

Paterson added the extras to make it 10-0 after 15 minutes.

Welsh fly-half Stephen Jones trimmed this lead by three points with a penalty of his own, but this was only temporary respite as Scotland immediately claimed their second try of the season.

Once again it was a forward who crossed the line, this time the impressive Taylor.  Paterson converted to make it 17-3 after 20 minutes.

But this sparked the Welsh into life and they scored a wonderful try of their own when scrum-half Gareth Cooper touched down after a flowing passage of play.

Jones converted to make it 17-10, but Paterson knocked over a penalty just before the interval to stretch Scotland's lead to double figures once more.

Paterson kicked his third penalty immediately after the restart to give the hosts a significant 23-10 margin before the game slipped into a 30-minute stalemate.

Wales pushed and probed -- creating a number of half chances -- but Scotland were able to soak up the pressure without too much difficulty.

The home side's only wobble came when centre James McLaren was sin-binned for a professional foul with 10 minutes remaining.

Wales, fortified by the arrival of Iestyn Harris from the bench, passed up kickable penalties and poured forward in search of a second try.

But the Scots held out, and Paterson, who was perfect with the boot, capped his day with an opportunist try when Rhys Williams made a mess of a Tom Smith grubber kick.

With the game lost, Wales claimed two injury-time tries through Mark Taylor and Williams.

But these consolation efforts were at least 10 minutes too late to alter the result or save their season.

The scorers:

Scotland 30:
Tries:  Douglas, Taylor, Paterson
Cons:  Paterson 3
Pens:  Paterson 3

Wales 22:
Try:  Cooper, Taylor, Rhys Williams
Con:  Jones 2
Pen:  Jones

Scotland:  G. Metcalfe, Paterson, McLaren, Utterson, Logan, Townsend, Redpath, T. Smith, Bulloch, Douglas, Murray, Grimes, White, Mower, Taylor.
Replacements:  Russell, G. Kerr, Hines, Petrie, Blair, G. Ross, Craig.

Wales:  K. Morgan, R. Williams, Taylor, Shanklin, G. Thomas, S. Jones, V. Cooper, I. Thomas, G. Williams, Evans, Sidoli, S. Williams, D. Jones, M. Williams, G. Thomas.
Replacements:  M. Davies, Jenkins, Llewellyn, Charvis, Peel, Harris, Watkins.

Referee:  Pablo Deluca (Argentina)

Heroic Ireland edge out France

Ireland confirmed their Grand Slam potential with a hard-fought 15-12 win over France in the RBS Six Nations at Lansdowne Road.

Twelve points from the boot of fly-half David Humphreys and an opportunistic drop-goal from Geordan Murphy edged out the French, whose points all came from Francois Gelez penalties.

But it was Ireland's incredible defence which won the game as they endured a torrid final five minutes with France throwing everything at them.

Murphy gave Ireland the ideal start with a sweetly-struck drop-goal in the opening minute.

The full-back demonstrated his astute rugby brain after a poor pass from scrum-half Peter Stringer left him no option but to go for the posts.

With a strong wind swirling around the ground, both sides initially struggled to put phases of play together before France sprung to life with a series of rolling mauls deep in Ireland's 22.

But a knock-on from hooker Raphael Ibanez with the line at his mercy cost them dear.

Another period of sustained French pressure was relieved where Malcolm O'Kelly intercepted Dimitri Yachvili's pass and sprinted 50 metres upfield to clear the danger.

Humphreys -- winning his 50th cap -- put Ireland further ahead on 10 minutes with a well-judged penalty, but Gelez's 15th-minute reply cut the lead to three points.

Ireland, kicking away possession needlessly, were grateful for Gelez's missed penalty in the 25th minute.

Humphreys extended his side's lead with another penalty after half an hour.

Kevin Maggs' powerful running and Brian O'Driscoll's dancing feet in the Irish midfield started to give the home side the advantage as the half developed.

Gelez spurned an opportunity to cut the defecit with another miss as half time approached.

And Humphreys quickly showed his opposite number how to do it with an excellent three-pointer from halfway.

Deep into first-half injury time Ireland survived a scare with Gelez's drop-goal attempt causing havoc after rebounding off the post, and it took an outstanding tackle from O'Driscoll on the line to deny Olivier Magne.

France started the second half with real attacking intent and Stringer's brave tackle on the rampaging Imanol Harinordoquy was vital.

With the rain starting to fall, Gelez punished Ireland for going offside with a penalty on 46 minutes

Five minutes later, Humphreys surprisingly missed in front of the posts as the conditions continued to deteriorate.

A superb break from Magne put Ireland under severe pressure and they were only saved by Keith Gleeson's tackle.

With the tension clearly getting to the players, both sides increasingly relied on bombarding the full-backs with high balls -- but both Murphy and Clement Poitrenaud dealt with the threat well.

After coming through a difficult ten-minute spell of sustained defending, Ireland began to exert some pressure of their own and Humphreys held his nerve with another penalty on 69 minutes.

Two minutes later though, Gelez's penalty again cut the lead to just three points.

After Ireland went desperately close to scoring a match-winning try, Humphreys left the crowd gasping when his penalty struck the post.

From the rebound, France nearly went the length of the pitch but last-ditch defending from Stringer and Hickie saved the day for Ireland.

The scorers:

Ireland 15:
Pens:  Humphreys 4
Drop goal:  Murphy

France 12:
Pens:  Gelez 4

Ireland:  Murphy, Kelly, O'Driscoll, Maggs, Hickie, Humphreys, Stringer, Horan, S. Byrne, Hayes, Longwell, O'Kelly, Costello, Gleeson, Foley
Replacements:  Sheahan, Fitzpatrick, Cullen, A Quinlan, G Easterby, O'Gara, Henderson

France:  Poitrenaud, Rougerie, Garbajosa, Traille, Clerc, Gelez, Yachvili, Crenca, Ibanez, Marconnet, Pelous, Brouzet, Betsen, Magne, Harinordoqui
Replacements:  Rue, Califano, Auradou, Chabal, Barrau, Merceron, Castaignede.

Referee:  Andre Watson (South Africa)