England's Marcus Smith comes up clutch to down Ireland at Twickenham, while Italy ends a home drought against Scotland.
England won with a last-gasp drop goal to deny Ireland a back-to-back Grand Slam in the Six Nations.Ireland could wrap up a second-straight Six Nations Championship with victory over Scotland in Dublin next week.
But England, trailing 22-20, produced one last attack and took it to the Irish try-line, where it received consecutive penalty advantages as the clock moved into red. If the play had broken down, Smith would have had a penalty kick to win the match. Instead, he snapped off a drop goal from inside the 22 to win it.
The defeat ended Ireland's 11-win streak in the championship, tied for the record with the England of 2015-17."I am so proud, we came under a lot of negativity after that Scotland game," England captain Jamie George said. Italy scored the next 21 points to lead again from the 57th. Scotland scored a bonus-point fourth try with two minutes to go and went after the win it desperately needed to stay in the title hunt. The Scots reeled off 28 phases and the clock went into red as they moved upfield, until Blair Kinghorn's offload to Sam Skinner was knocked on and Italy finally secured a precious win."We gave everything and I couldn't be prouder," Italy captain Michele Lamaro told broadcaster ITV.
"Italy played better in the second half and got more points than us so of course they deserved it," Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said.