England crush Ireland 30-9

Sun, Mar 18, 2012, 1:00 AM
AAP
by AAP

England finished second in the Six Nations and boosted the chances of interim coach Stuart Lancaster becoming their permanent boss with a convincing 30-9 victory over Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.

A youthful English forward pack overpowered Ireland up front and that dominance was reflected when England scored a penalty try from a scrum heading into the final quarter.

Then, seven minutes from time, replacement scrum-half Ben Youngs sealed England's win -- only their second in nine Six Nations matches against Ireland -- with a sniping try.

Victory gave Lancaster a record of four victories from five matches since he was appointed on a caretaker basis following Martin Johnson's post Rugby World Cup resignation.

It also meant Lancaster had overseen his first Test win at Twickenham after champions Wales, who earlier on Saturday wrapped up the Grand Slam by beating France in Cardiff, won 19-12 in England's only other home match this tournament.

England's Owen Farrell kicked 20 points, with the 20-year-old fly-half -- given his Test debut by Lancaster at the start of this Six Nations -- again showing an impressive temperament.

All of Ireland's points came courtesy of three penalties from fly-half Jonathan Sexton.

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