Nevin Spence and Andrew Conway both crossed twice with Tiernan O’Halloran also getting in on the act while fly-half James McKinney contributed 19 points with the boot as Ireland moved to eight points in the table,

Only a 47-point win for England over France could take the title away from Ireland thanks to their superior points’ difference.
And with the Triple Crown secured, Clarke maintains the IRFU are reaping the rewards of investment in their youth programme.

He said: “If you'd have told us we'd be in this position before the campaign began we'd have been very happy.

“With the draw, France away England away, we set out to win our home games, and pick something up on the road knowing that would be tough.

“I didn't organise the fixtures maybe some people thought that the defining game would be Sunday, we've done our business, we've won a triple crown, we've put ourselves in a wonderful position.

“From an Irish rugby point of view, it reflects where our programmes are, it reflects the support of our schools and our clubs and our provinces.

“This isn't just about the current management team, the management team are fantastic, this is a reflection of the whole of Irish rugby and where we are in terms of our pathways at the moment.”