Tommy Bowe and Brian O’Driscoll crossed in each half while man of the match Jonathan Sexton kicked 14 points in an encounter dominated throughout by Ireland.

England, who replied with a try from Steve Thompson and a penalty by Toby Flood, must now wait for France’s clash with Wales for confirmation of whether they have won the RBS 6 Nations title.

Ireland registered an early morale victory when they sent England hurtling back at a scrum from inside their own 22 and referee Bryce Lawrence had no option but to award a penalty.

Two superb kicks from Keith Earls and Sexton kept England pinned deep inside their own half with strong running from Tommy Bowe also making an impact.

Sexton, who had endured a torrid time when appearing as a second-half substitute in Cardiff last Saturday, settled his nerves with a simple early penalty after the visitors has strayed offside.

England’s uncertain start continued when Toby Flood failed to make 10 yards with the restart, enabling Ireland to renew their assault.

Flanker Sean O’Brien has carried magnificently all championship and his fine form continued this afternoon with two bullocking runs into the heart of the white defence.

The visitors were under pressure and a high tackle on Sexton by Chris Ashton enabled the Leinster fly-half to extend the lead with a tricky penalty.

England hinted at building some momentum through James Haskell only to turn the ball over.

Controversy reigned in the 22nd minute when O’Driscoll finished what appeared to be a superb try only for Lawrence to rule the scoring pass forward.

It was a bitter blow to Ireland, who had smashed their way forward through Jamie Heaslip and Bowe, coming just seven days after conceding a try against Wales that clearly should not have stood.

Some consolation was provided by a Sexton penalty after their opponents had strayed offside in the same move.

Worse was to come for England, however, after Flood missed the easiest of penalties and shortly after Ireland crossed – and this time there was no intervention from Bryce.

Reeling from the ferocity of the Irish onslaught, England’s defence was in pieces and the quick-witted Sexton needed no second invitation.

He took a quick tap penalty instead of going for goal, finding Bowe who showed strength to crash over the line.

Sexton missed the conversion and on the half hour mark England had finally troubled the scoreboard when Flood landed a long-range penalty.

Johnson’s side were imploding with a dreadful passage of play putting them under further pressure.

The lack of chasers on a series of kicks handed the advantage to their opponents and only a try-saving tackle by Flood on David Wallace, who had ripped the ball off Shontayne Hape, prevented further damage.

Moments after Wallace had been shoved into touch, Ben Youngs threw the ball into the crowd and was shown a yellow card.

Reduced to 14 men, England were then made to pay an even higher price for Youngs’ petulance when Sexton rifled over the penalty.

The panic that had crept into England's game was evident in the opening moments of the second half when a desperate high pass to Banahan was shipped further down the line until Bowe got a foot on the ball.

Had the bounce been kinder, Ireland would have been in but a heartbeat later they were threatening once again through the ubiquitous Bowe and Earls, whose cute kick sent England scrambling.

A second touch down seemed inevitable and it arrived in the 47th minute through O’Driscoll, who in the process became the championship’s all-time leading try scorer with 25.

Wave after wave of attacks from the green shirts left England stretched to breaking point and they cracked when O’Driscoll picked up a spilt pass from Donncha O’Callaghan and dived in at the corner.

Sexton added the conversion and to sum up England’s afternoon Ashton broke free with the whitewash beckoning, only to pass straight into the arms of D’Arcy.

With 30 minutes remaining Johnson replaced Flood with Jonny Wilkinson and also brought on Steve Thompson – the only two survivors from the 2003 match.

Thompson’s impact was instant as he intercepted a pass from Reddan at a line-out and cantered home unopposed from 30 yards out.

Wilkinson sliced the conversion but the respite for England was brief as once more Ireland went on the attack until a lack of numbers resulted in a turnover.

England manoeuvred themselves into a promising position with an attacking line-out five metres out, but Simon Shaw was stripped of the ball and the moment was gone.

Sexton left the field to a well-earned standing ovation with Ronan O’Gara coming on to equal the championship appearance record of 56, held by Mike Gibson.

O’Gara soon became embroiled in a scuffle with Ashton before composing himself to produce a terrific touchfinder.

England just could not break from their half, held in an iron grip by the home side’s superiority in every department.

It was proving a humbling experience for the only team left in the Six Nations with a 100% record and the final whistle must have seemed like a relief when it finally came.