Ireland hammer England as Italy stun Scotland

Ireland delivered the performance the occasion demanded yesterday when they hammered England by a record 43-13 in a momentous Six Nations encounter at Croke Park to reignite their championship ambitions.

Ireland dealt admirably with all the emotional baggage around the match and, after a tight opening quarter, cut loose ferociously to record a fourth successive win over the world champions and their highest score and biggest win against them.

Tries by Girvan Dempsey and David Wallace - while England were down to 14 - earned a 23-3 half-time lead.

After England threatened a comeback with a try by debutant David Strettle, Shane Horgan scored a third in the 65th minute and replacement Isaac Boss finished it off with a late fourth.

Flyhalf Ronan O'Gara had another perfect goal-kicking display with 21 points from five penalties and three conversions as Ireland bounced back brilliantly from their loss to France while England suffered their first defeat of the tournament.

At Murrayfield, Italy stunned Scotland with three tries in an astonishing first six minutes and went on to win 37-17 to secure their first away victory since joining the Six Nations.

The amazing victory was their highest score and biggest margin of victory in the championship - eclipsing the 14-point margin from their 34-20 win over Scotland in their first match in the competition in Rome in 2000.

Other result - France vs Wales 32-21