International Rugby

England completed the Rugby Triple Crown on Saturday, beating Wales 25-21 in Round 4 of the 2016 Six Nations.

Owen Farrell kicked England to a nine-point lead in the first half before Anthony Watson scored the first try of the match, as the hosts dominated before half-time.

Wales improved after the break, however, and Dan Biggar put the visitors on the board to set up a nervy finish. Wales reduced the deficit to four points through George North and Taulupe Faletau, taking advantage of Dan Cole's yellow card, but England hung on for a deserved win.

Per Simon Thomas of WalesOnline, Wales coach Warren Gatland thought his team were in a better position for Saturday's clash than the meeting between both sides at least year's Rugby World Cup:

We feel like there’s a lot of strength in depth and a lot of experience. The two young props have continued to get better and better. Samson Lee had been coming back from injury during the World Cup. We feel Samson and Rob Evans have done really well and Scott Baldwin has continued to get better and better as a hooker as well. So up front we feel pretty settled and pretty confident at the moment and then having Jonathan Davies back in that midfield with that experience as well.

Actor Hugh Laurie was looking forward to this match:

The hosts started very well, with Mike Brown taking possession immediately and pushing forward. Just two minutes into the contest, the TMO was needed to review whether or Ben Youngs had opened the score, but it was determined he had knocked the ball on with his elbow.

George Ford drove the England attack early, and after eight minutes, the hosts took the lead, as Farrell kicked a penalty after Jamie Roberts failed to roll away.

ESPN Scrum's Tom Hamilton liked what he saw from England:

The TMO denied England another try early in the first half, as video officials couldn't find any footage of Dan Cole touching down. Gareth Davies made the key play, getting his arm underneath the ball, but England got another penalty from the ensuing scrum, and Farrell doubled their lead.

Wales opened up and enjoyed their first attacks of the match, but some sloppy passing saw England regain control, and Farrell added three more points after the Welsh scrum was judged to have wheeled again.

Per the Six Nations' official Twitter account, penalties were killing Wales:

Maro Itoje impressed by stealing two lineouts in quick succession, and the English pressure continued. But for all of their dominance, the hosts' lead was just nine points at the halfway point of the first half.

They finally scored their first try of the match after 32 minutes, as Itoje fought off the tackles before feeding Brown, who in turn found Watson, who popped over.

Rugby writer Brendan Gallagher was full of praise for Itoje, who made the try happen:

Bleacher Report UK couldn't help but take a shot at the Welsh side:

Wales were finally able to spend some time in the England half just before the break, but the score remained unchanged at half-time, as the hosts led 16-0.

Itoje was the man of the moment, playing a fantastic half of rugby, but manager Eddie Jones had reasons to be proud of all of his players, who put together one of their bests halves of rugby in ages.

The hosts picked up where they left off to start the second half, as Brown immediately broke a tackle and made well over 20 yards. Wales soon gave away another penalty at the breakdown, and Farrell increased England's lead to 19 points.

The Press Association's Aisling Ennis didn't understand what Wales were doing:

Wales turned down two options to put points on the board in order to work their scrum, knowing they were running out of time and needed tries. 

The choice paid off, as Biggar chased down Ford after Youngs lobbed a lazy pass and touched down himself. He also added the conversion, making the score 19-7.

Per Hamilton, the visitors gladly accepted the try almost gifted to them:

Wales' bid to complete the comeback took a hit when Sam Warburton was carted off with an apparent head injury, but the visitors continued to push forward, making for a far more even second half.

Manu Tuilagi celebrated his return to the England squad in the second half, replacing the impressive Ford, and his team, Leicester Tigers, were among the many to welcome him back, via their Twitter account:

Tuilagi immediately forced a penalty with his first carry, which Farrell kicked to push England's advantage and all but put away the Welsh team. He added to his tally three minutes later.

Cole was sin-binned with eight minutes left to play, and Wales took full advantage, as North and Faletau scored in quick succession, and the two conversions brought the deficit down to four points with minutes left to play.

More from Bleacher Report UK:

But despite some late pressure, Wales couldn't find the last try needed to beat England, who booted the ball into the stands to secure the Triple Crown. 

England will travel to France on Saturday, March 19, looking to complete the Grand Slam, while Wales will play host to winless Italy.

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England gave themselves a commanding three-point lead in the 2016 RBS Six Nations as they narrowly beat Wales 25-21 at Twickenham on Saturday.

Earlier, Ireland earned their first win of the tournament in style as they scored nine tries against Italy, beating them 58-15.

Here is confirmation of the results and the table at the close of play on Saturday, followed by a closer look at both encounters:

Saturday Recap

Anthony Watson scored the only try of the first half, while Owen Farrell racked up the points with some excellent kicking as England comprehensively outplayed a disappointing Wales side before half-time.

Dan Biggar was gifted a try after 54 minutes, and Wales went over twice late on through George North and Toby Faletau, but England held on for the all-important win.

The hosts raced out of the traps and Ben Youngs went over after three minutes, but the scrum-half was denied a try by the television match official due to a knock-on. England continued to pour forward and took a well-deserved lead through a Farrell penalty after 10 minutes.

They went over again five minutes later as Dan Cole wrestled his way through under the posts, but there was insufficient evidence for referee Craig Joubert to award it, per ITV Rugby: 

After a couple more Farrell penalties, Watson added to England's lead after Maro Itoje and Mike Brown worked the ball to him on the left:

Rugby pundit Jonathan Davies and writer Ben Coles gave their thoughts at half-time: 

Another excellent kick from Farrell got England off to a great start in the second half:

However, Wales were handed a lifeline when Biggar charged down George Ford to earn himself a simple try:

Two more Farrell penalties gave England some breathing room, but Wales were reinvigorated by their try and continued to fight their way back into the match through North:

Minutes later, Faletau had England hearts in mouths as he narrowed the gap to just four points:

A tense and electric end to the game followed as Wales won a penalty, but England were able to wrestle the ball back and kick out to safety.

England could win the Six Nations on Sunday if France lose at the hands of Scotland. If Les Bleues win, it all comes down to a showdown between the two in Paris.

Ireland lead 25-3 at half-time as Andrew Trimble, Jack McGrath, CJ Stander and Jamie Heaslip all went over. The hosts did not ease up after the break with Jared Payne, Heaslip, Sean Cronin, Ian Madigan and Fergus McFadden all scoring tries in the second half.

David Odiete and Leonardo Sarto provided Italy's only replies, but their tries proved little more than consolations as Ireland dominated from start to finish.

Trimble opened the scoring in the seventh minute when he wriggled over the line on the left:

After consultation with the television match official, McGrath was awarded a try of his own inside 15 minutes. Edoardo Padovani's penalty gave Italy a brief respite, but Jonathan Sexton cancelled it out with one of his own.

The visitors were firmly pinned back in their own half, and Stander was able to force his way over for Ireland's third:

Heaslip capped off the half with his first try, crossing the line in the corner despite Sarto's best efforts, and Payne intercepted a loose Padovani pass to cruise home for a fifth just three minutes after the restart:

Six minutes later Heaslip powered his way over on the right, before replacement Cronin capitalised on a gap in Italy's line:

Odiete helped his side earn a small modicum of respectability with Italy's first as he raced onto an exquisite pass over the top from Guglielmo Palazzani. Madigan inflicted further pain on them as his try saw Ireland reach their half-century. Rugby writer Paul Williams succinctly summarised Italy's situation:

Sarto took advantage of some slack defensive play to go over in space on the right, but the scoring was not to end there, as McFadden rounded out the scoring with two minutes to go. As Opta Jonny noted, his try set an impressive record for Ireland:

Ireland take on Scotland in the final week of the Six Nations and should have the confidence to end their campaign on a high after running so rampant here.

As for Italy, they take on Wales in Round 5 and look destined to pick up the Wooden Spoon once again.

Ireland cruised to their first win of the 2016 Six Nations tournament on Saturday, scoring nine tries and crushing Italy 58-15 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in Round 4.

Andrew Trimble, Jack McGrath, CJ Stander and Jamie Heaslip all scored tries in the first half, and Heaslip added a second after half-time. Jared Payne also got his name on the board, as did Sean Cronin, Ian Madigan and Fergus McFadden. Jonathan Sexton struggled from the tee, missing a number of conversions.

David Odiete and Leonardo Sarto scored tries for Italy, while Edoardo Padovani kicked an early penalty. 

Before the start of the match, Ireland coach Joe Schmidt commented on suggestions he'd play Payne at full-back, saying he adds too much to the defence at outside-cente for that, per the Press Association (for Sky Sports):

I don't know what calls there were on the outside for Jared to play full-back.We haven't trained with Jared at 15 so it would be a big step for us to suddenly change that.

Rob Kearney trained on Monday and Simon Zebo has played plenty of full-back for us. What we lack with Jared Payne not in the midfield has been particularly evident for us, particularly on the edge in defence.

We're looking for him to control our defence again in the frontline.

The Irish were desperate to add their first win of the 2016 campaign, but it was Italy who threatened first, as Gonzalo Garcia had a try disallowed just minutes into the match. ESPN Scrum's Robin Bartlett explained why the try wasn't given:

It was a big let-off for the hosts, who started the match looking rather sluggish defensively. A steal from the lineout gave them possession in a promising area, however, and a poor tap from Leonardo Sarto allowed Sexton to take control of the ball and find Trimble for the first try.

Sexton missed the conversion, but the early score set the tone for a dominant first half from Ireland. McGrath soon powered home the second try, and following Sexton's conversion, Ireland were leading 12-0.

Padovani put the visitors on the board after a sloppy Ireland turnover midway through the first half, but Sexton restored the 12-point lead soon after. Sergio Parisse was the guilty man with a late tackle, and per The42.ie Rugby, the veteran was lucky not to get booked after receiving an earlier warning:

Ireland increased the pressure on the Italy defence as the first half wore on, taking advantage of their narrow shape by exploiting the spaces out wide. The third try of the match had little to do with pace, however, as Stander simply muscled his way over the line. Once again, Sexton's aim was off on the conversion.

An Azzurri lineout just a few metres from Ireland's try-line came to naught thanks to some great work from Sexton, as momentum remained with the hosts, and Heaslip put the icing on the cake with a wonderful try just before half-time.

Sexton started the play with a marvellous run, Simon Zebo found the gap before offloading to Payne, and Heaslip eventually found the corner. Bartlett was impressed:

The score was 25-3 at half-time, as Italy found no answer for Ireland's persistent pressure. Had Sexton not missed a handful of conversions, the hosts' lead would have been even bigger.

Ireland slowed down the play to start the second half, knowing full well they already had the match won. Four minutes into the match, Padovani handed Payne another try with a dreadful pass, and Heaslip added a second try soon after.

Bartlett thought things might get out of hand:

Replacement Cronin joined in on the fun soon after, as Italy's defence crumbled completely. The Azzurri had reason to celebrate in the second half as well, however, as Odiete found himself on the end of a great pass from Guglielmo Palazzani and scored the visitors' first try of the match.

Ireland continued to push forward for more tries, and after some sloppy passing allowed the Italians to catch their breath, Madigan eventually broke through after 63 minutes.

Like many, sports writer Ewan MacKenna couldn't help but wonder why the Italians still receive an automatic birth into the Six Nations while he watched them struggle against the previously winless Ireland squad:

The Irish pressure finally lifted after Madigan's try, and Italy were allowed to pass the ball around a bit and kill the time. 

Sarto added a second try late for the visitors, with video replay confirming the ball did not move forward before he went over in the corner. McFadden scored the final try of the match, Ireland's ninth of the afternoon.

Ireland will host Scotland in their final Six Nations match of the year, while Italy will travel to Wales on Saturday, March 19.

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There's a huge clash in the penultimate round of the 2016 RBS Six Nations as table-toppers England take on second-placed Wales in a match that may decide the winner of this year's tournament.

Meanwhile, France will be trying to keep their hopes alive and make gains on their rivals when they travel to Murrayfield to face Scotland on Sunday.

Ireland and Italy will play each other in Round 4's other fixture as they seek to avoid the unwanted wooden spoon.

Here are the viewing details you need to catch all three matches, complete with the latest tournament odds:

Matches can be streamed live via BBC iPlayer and ITV Player.

England will be not only looking to put themselves in the best possible position ahead of Round 5, but also aiming to avenge their 28-25 defeat to Wales at Twickenham in the World Cup.

Both sides have named unchanged starting XVs after winning in their last match, per their official Twitter feeds:

Rugby journalist Andrew Baldock believes Wales have the advantage in experience:

Per BBC Sport's Chris Jones, England forward George Kruis believes his side have improved enormously following their disappointing World Cup campaign. He told BBC Radio 5 Live:

We're a new team almost.

There are a lot of the same players, but we have a lot of confidence about us, we've been training in different ways, and we have a lot more detail and clarity in our plans.

The coaches have come in from the start and told us exactly how we want to play. So expect something big from us at the weekend.

England beat Ireland 21-10 in Round 3, while Wales saw off France 19-10. Rugby journalist Simon Thomas and former England star Will Carling hailed the latter's defensive display against the French:

England's defensive work against Ireland didn't go unnoticed, either, although the BBC's Jason Mohammad did highlight stamina issues:

Eddie Jones' side have shone going forward so far, having scored nine tries—four more than Wales, France or Scotland—and unsurprisingly have amassed the most points.

Wales will need to be wary of Anthony Watson and his electric pace. The full-back has made four clean breaks in the tournament so far, according to its official website, second only to Italy's Michele Campagnaro, and as noted by OptaJonny, his try against Ireland added to an excellent run of form:

The match could come down to who emerges triumphant between cousins Billy Vunipola and Taulupe Faletau.

The powerhouse No. 8s have stood out in the Six Nations so far, though Baldock believes the Welshman to be comfortably better than his counterpart:

According to the competition's official website, Vunipola has gained 209 metres, made 45 carries and beaten 16 defenders—more than any other England player on all three counts—so their clash will be a mouthwatering one indeed.

Per Jones, Kruis said of Vunipola: "He's a man who likes to be told exactly what he needs to do, and be put in the positions to do it. He's been phenomenal for us and he's one of many who have been stepping up."

If Vunipola can get the better of his cousin on Saturday, he should be able to guide his team to victory.

Should Faletau put in another defensive masterclass, he could nullify Vunipola's threat. England will still have the likes of Watson and Mike Brown to call on, but stopping him will go a long way to blunting their attacking rhythm.