Slammed in the snow - Ireland outclass struggling England to clinch third Grand Slam title

The Ireland team celebrate with the NatWest Six Nations trophy and the Triple Crown Trophy after the NatWest Six Nations match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium. Photo / Getty

Ireland ignited the St Patrick's Day celebrations by sealing the third grand slam in their history as England collapsed to a 24-15 defeat at Twickenham.

A record-extending 12th successive Irish victory was sealed at a canter as a 21-5 half-time lead in south west London established an unassailable position to elevate Joe Schmidt's class of 2018 alongside the heroes of 1948 and 2009.

Garry Ringrose and CJ Stander crossed before Jacob Stockdale plundered a record- breaking seventh touchdown of the tournament, claiming a try that was laced in irony due to the extension of the in-goal area in anticipation of snow.

FT England 15-24 Ireland . Fully deserved Grand Slam for Ireland after wobble in paris, loads of young players coming through, improved over last 18months, . England? Not so much

— Tom Cary (@tomcary_tel) March 17, 2018

England, under former Wallabies boss Eddie Jones, have descended into crisis as their 14-Test unbeaten home record under the Australian drew to a close, in the process registering a third successive loss and a first championship defeat at Twickenham since 2012.

"We knew it was going to be a really tough task to come here and win.

"Right from the off we tried to attack England with and without the ball, it was a very ferocious Test match, right throughout," said Ireland captain Rory Best.

Jacob Stockdale of Ireland on his way to touching down his sides third try during the NatWest Six Nations match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium. Photo / Getty Images.

"We just had to make sure we made every moment count, every single moment, build the moments on top of each other and try to build as close to a perfect 80 minutes as we could because we knew the reward would be worth the massive effort required.

"Words can't describe how delighted we are with that win but also the Grand Slam.

"It was all about this game and all about the Grand Slam. The statement for us was to make sure we won something big and ultimately in this, what turned out to be a cup final for us, to show what we're made of."

England's players react after Ireland scored a third try during the Six Nations rugby union match between England and Ireland at Twickenham stadium in London. Photo / AP

England boss Jones had warm words for Ireland "They're a good, tough team, well coached, very well disciplined. They play to their strengths and they're very worthy Grand Slam winners," he said.

"There was no lack of effort from (England) but we just struggled to execute at certain times. I thought our players really stuck at it, but we gave them too big a lead. "It's obviously disappointing but you go through these little runs and the only way you get out of it is by sticking to the process and focusing on what you need to improve. "We've just got to keep working on our game, keep looking at how we can improve it."

IRELAND. GRAND. SLAM. CHAMPIONS
🏉 @IrishRugby
1948 ✔
2009 ✔
2018 ✔ #GRANDSLAM Champions pic.twitter.com/hqWU2qkchU

— BBC SPORT NI (@BBCSPORTNI) March 17, 2018