Wales completed a third Six Nations grand slam in eight years after beating France 16-9 at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Wales took a first-half lead through an Alex Cuthbert try which proved to be the only one of the match. Two second-half penalties from Leigh Halfpenny helped Wales to maintain their seven-point lead with France unable to make a breakthrough.
The result put an end to England’s faint title hopes finished before their evening kick off against Ireland at Twickenham. Despite having nothing to play for, England’s inexperienced side were excellent in a 30-9 victory.
The sides traded penalties in a scrappy first half before England stepped things up after the break. Owen Farrell converted a penalty try and with seven minutes remaining Ben Youngs’ quick thinking from a penalty England a second try.
In the day’s early game, Italy beat Scotland 13-6 to finish avoid finishing bottom of the table for the first time since 2007 and condemn their opponents to an embarrassing whitewash.
Leicester held off Northampton Saints to win the LV= Cup final 26-14. Teenager George Ford impressed at fly-half with an excellent kicking performance.
The weekend’s football was overshadowed by tragic scenes at White Hart Lane, where Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest. His condition is described as “stable”, but critical. The FA Cup quarter-final was abandoned after Muamba left for hospital with the score at 1-1.
Chelsea’s upturn in fortunes under the stewardship of Roberto di Matteo continued in their tie at home to Leicester City. Fernando Torres ended his notoriously barren spell in front of goal, scoring twice in a 5-2 victory to end a run of more than 24 hours without scoring. Chelsea will face the winners of the rearranged tie between Spurs and Bolton.
Liverpool set up a potential all-Merseyside semi-final with victory over Stoke at Anfield on Sunday thanks to Stewart Downing’s 57th-minute winner. Everton will have to beat Sunderland in a replay at the Stadium of Light if they are to meet their rivals in the semi-final after they drew 1-1 with Sunderland.
Manchester United increased their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points over Manchester City with a comfortable 5-0 win against Wolves at Molinieux.
With the scores at 1-0, Wolves full-back Ronald Zubar was sent off for a second bookable offence and his side crumbled after his departure. Javier Hernandez scored twice in a contest which at times resembled a training match for the defending champions.
A man-of-the-match performance from Kilmarnock goalkeeper Cammy Bell helped his side upset the odds to defeat Celtic 1-0 in the Scottish Communities League Cup final. Dieter van Tornhout gave Kilmarnock the lead in the dying minutes and Celtic’s Anthony Stokes was booked for diving for what looked like a foul in the Kilmarnock penalty area.
The 2012 Formula One season kicked off in Melbourne in the early hours of Sunday morning and the high-profile British drivers had a promising start to their seasons. Jenson Button won ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton who finished in third, with defending champion Sebastian Vettel between the two.
Luke Donald returned to the top of golf’s world rankings with victory in the Transitions Championship in Florida. Donald won a first playoff hole after finishing tied on 13 under with Robert Garrigus, Jim Furyk and Sang-Moon Bae.
Requiring victory to reclaim the number one spot, Donald started his final round three shots behind Furyk and Retief Goosen but registered five birdies in seven holes around the turn to claw back the deficit.
In the Super League, St Helens head coach Royce Simmons was sacked after a 12-8 defeat at Bradford which left them in ninth, with five points from seven games. The entire top half of the table won over the weekend, so Huddersfield retain their position as league leaders ahead of Warrington, Wigan, Leeds and Catalan Dragons with a 32-30 win over Wakefield.
