Ireland defeat England to seal Grand Slam glory in Six Nations' Dublin date

Ireland stood one win away from completing the Grand Slam in Dublin for the first time with England the final hurdle separating them from the Guinness Six Nations title.

Andy Farrell’s men were strong favourites to lift the crown but after France’s bonus-point win against Wales, they knew they could not afford to slip up.

England were looking for redemption after their record Twickenham defeat by Les Bleus in round four with captain Owen Farrell restored at fly-half.

England drew first blood through an Owen Farrell penalty as part of an encouraging start for the visitors that included significant headway made at the breakdown compared to France a week earlier.

Alex Dombrandt stopped Johnny Sexton from scoring with a tackle over the line and once the Irish attack had subsided, Farrell had landed another penalty.

Hugo Keenan raced through a gap but England scrambled effectively, limiting Ireland to three points from Sexton.

England’s penalty count was growing but they were still making their tackles as the hosts built pressure on enemy territory.

Their defence parted in the 33rd minute, however, when Josh Van Der Flier broke from a line-out maul and fed the scoring pass to Dan Sheehan who was supporting on his inside shoulder.

Ireland led 10-6 with Sexton’s conversion and England suffered a hammer blow in first-half injury time when Freddie Steward was sent off for taking out Hugo Keenan with an arm to the head.

Steve Borthwick’s men were showing a steely resolve as they atoned for the France debacle and having won a scrum penalty, Farrell completed another successful shot at goal.

Ireland were controlling possession and territory but with the visitors fighting for everything at the breakdown, they were unable to make it count on the scoreboard.

Another scrum penalty enabled England to escape their half and as the match entered the final quarter tension hung in the Aviva Stadium air.

But when pressure built on the English line, gaps appeared in the defence and Robbie Henshaw slipped through one with ease as Ireland went 17-9 ahead.

And when a short side was brilliantly exploited, Sheehan was able to plunder his second try in the right corner to move the hosts out of sight.

Willis was sin-binned for tipping over the horizontal and replacement hooker Rob Herring completed a 29-16 victory that ignited the Grand Slam celebrations.

Ireland lock James Ryan admitted it was not a perfect performance but was delighted at the resolve showed by his side.

“One of the best nights of our careers. It was all about delivering today and attacking. We didn’t get it quite right to start with but we found a way,” Ryan told ITV.

“There was a bit of pressure but there’s pressure in every game you play for Ireland. We were a little bit off quieter in the first half so we’re delighted to get the result. This day is really special.”