RBS Six Nations Finale Sat 21st March 2015

After a thrilling day of rugby Ireland win the title on points difference.

ITA 20-61 WAL 

Wales have cruised to an emphatic 61-20 win over Italy to keep their chances of winning the Six Nations championship alive on the final day of the tournament.

The hosts made things difficult in the first half for Warren Gatland's side as Giovanbattista Vendittt's try cancelled out an early effort from Jamie Roberts, leaving Wales just a point ahead at the break.

However, the visitors surged ahead while Andrea Masi was in the sin bin for the Azzurri, leaving George North to score a hat-trick of tries in just 10 minutes.

Rhys Webb, Liam Williams and Sam Warburton all crossed the line as well as Italy's defence crumbled, while Scott Williams added an eighth for the visitors late on.

Leonardo Sarto sprinted clear for a consolation in the final minute, but the win means England and Ireland will need convincing wins to move above Wales in the final standings. 


SCO 10-40 IRE 

Ireland have returned to the top of the standings in the 2015 Six Nations championship with a 40-10 win over Scotland at Murrayfield this afternoon.

Ireland headed into the match knowing that they needed to win by more than 20 points to move back above Wales in the standings, and they made a strong start as Paul O'Connell powered over inside the opening five minutes.

Sean O'Brien created some space to run the ball over for a second, but the hosts kept the scores close at the interval as Finn Russell burst down the line to keep the hosts in contention.

The visitors were dominant at the start of the second half as they tried to open up the required gap, resulting in a try for Jeryd Payne, leaving Ireland and Wales level on points difference.

Ireland had a lineout late on as they tried to keep their title hopes alive, and O'Brien managed to squeeze over after taking the ball from Jamie Heaslip.

The result moves Ireland ahead of Wales, but they can still be caught by England in the final match of the tournament if they beat France by 26 points.


ENG 55-35 FRA 

England found themselves a converted try away from winning the Six Nations, but they ultimately fell short as they conceded five tries against France to secure a 55-35 win, which meant that the championship went to Ireland.

The hosts, needing to win by 26 points to overtake Joe Schmidt's charges, opened the scoring within the first two minutes as a misplaced forward pass in the middle of the park allowed Jonathan Joseph to charge down the right wing at pace.

The ball was then shipped inside to Tom Youngs, who burst over the line, and George Ford converted to mark a perfect start for England, whose target was set after Ireland beat Scotland 40-10 earlier in the day.

France were however able to get back into the game when Ford held the ball for too long, prompting the referee to give the visitors a penalty that Jules Plisson slammed between the posts.

Just moments later Les Bleus were in the lead after Billy Vunipola's misplaced pass to Courtney Lawes was plucked out of the air and sent to Sebastien Tillous-Borde, who charged down the left wing before crossing over.

When Noa Nakaitaci bundled over the line in the 17th minute, it looked like England's Six Nations dream was in tatters.

Stuart Lancaster's charges, however, rallied round through a Ford penalty and a try apiece for Anthony Watson and Youngs before the break.

This would seemingly set the stage for England to get the 26 points needed to overtake Ireland at the top of the Six Nations, but France had other ideas.

Guilhem Guirado was felled by a crunching tackle as he marauded towards the posts, but Maxime Mermoz collected the ball before crossing over to deflate the hosts.

The game then descended into an open-ended barrage of tries from both sides as England fans' emotions swayed from hope to despair and back again.

Jack Nowell ran in two tries while George Ford and Billy Vunipola scored one apiece, but Les Bleus were always just behind in the scoreline stakes as Vincent Debaty and Benjamin Kayser stopped England from reaching that all-elusive points target to pip Ireland at the top.

There was to be no fairytale ending for the hosts at Twickenham as France held firm to lose by just 20 points, leaving England to contemplate another second-placed finish in the Six Nations.