Dramatic finale drains Ireland coach

Joe Schmidt called it a "rollercoaster ride" but after the ups and down of a dramatic denouement in the 2015 Six Nations championship, Ireland's head coach and his players were left clutching the trophy.

Having beaten Scotland 40-10 at Murrayfield, equaling their record margin against that side, captain Paul O'Connell and the rest of the Ireland players had to wait to see whether England could overtake them at the top of the table with a winning margin of 26 points against France at Twickenham.

England's 55-35 victory confirmed Ireland as champion for the second successive season, its first back-to-back successes since 1948-49. O'Connell and his teammates then returned to the Murrayfield pitch to collect the trophy in front of the 5,000 celebrating Irish supporters who had stayed to watch the drama on the big screen.