Wales and Italy line up before rugby's Six Nations "Super Saturday" at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Four teams (Wales, England, Ireland and France) went into the final round of fixtures with hopes of winning the northern hemisphere's premiere international rugby tournament.
And with the Welsh, English and Irish all having won the same number of matches at the start of play, the title was likely go to the team that could secure the best points differential over the course of the tournament.
England started the day on + 37, Ireland was second on +33 while Wales was third on +12. The scene was set the scene for a dramatic, closely-fought points-fest.
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Liam Williams of Wales springs to catch a high kick during a closely fought first half in Rome.
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Wales struggled early on and although center Jamie Roberts (pictured with ball) crashed over for the games first try, the men in red went in trailing at halftime.
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But an explosive start to the second period soon saw Wales surge ahead. Here, captain Sam Warbuton races through to score.
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And more was to come. Welsh Winger George North excelled, running in a quick-fire hat-trick of tries to put Wales way ahead of Italy as well their Irish and English rivals who would play later in the day.
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At the end of play Wales had scored eight tries and six penalties to win 61-20 leaving this fan who had made the trip to Italy smiling.
The convincing result meant Wales raced ahead with a points differential of +53. Ireland would therefore have to defeat Scotland by at least 21 points later in the afternoon to have any chance of taking the title while England would have to beat France by a minimum of 17 points.
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Ireland fans in upbeat mood, despite the huge Welsh victory earlier in the day, pose for the cameras before their side's Six Nations match with Scotland at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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Ireland started strongly, with captain Paul O'Connell scoring early against the Scots who had been beaten in each of their previous Six Nations matches this year.
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Sean O'brien increased Ireland's advantage later in the first half to close in on Wales points total.
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Although Scotland got themselves on the score-board, a rampant Ireland ran in four tries to win 40-10, their biggest ever victory at the home of Scottish rugby.
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The result pushed Ireland to the top of the Six Nations table with a points difference of +63 for the tournament, 10 ahead of Wales and 26 ahead of England who now knew what they had to do at home to France.
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Providing England with the Royal seal approval at Twickenham Stadium was Prince Harry.
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England made the perfect start, scoring a try in the second minute.
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France came back into an increasingly brutal game but England went in at halftime 27-15 ahead.
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England stretched ahead with a series of tries as the second half progressed. But France kept pace, notching up three second half scores of their own.
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Jack Nowell of England dives over to score England's seventh try. With just six minutes remaining, England were 20 points ahead meaning one more converted try would give them the title.
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But France held strong to ensure there was no more scoring leaving England's stars disappointed at how close they had come.
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The luck of the Irish. A far happier scene was playing out at the same time in the Scottish capital. Ireland fans who stayed behind at Murrayfield celebrated as they watched the drama unfolding at Twickenham on the stadium's big screen.
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Ireland players reappeared suited and booted on the Murrayfield pitch to accept the Six Nations trophy which they claim by virtue of a slender points differential of +63 points compared to Englands +57.