DUBLIN — Ireland turned on the style to give a teary-eyed Brian O'Driscoll the perfect farewell present in his last Test on home soil with a thumping 46-7 victory over Italy at Lansdowne Road in their Six Nations clash Saturday. O'Driscoll, 35, was instrumental in Ireland's first three tries — two of which were scored by his former Leinster teammate Jonathan Sexton — as victory also saw him join former England prop Jason Leonard wit the most Five/Six Nations wins of 44. “A bit of a joke really to be man of the match after just 60 minutes,” grinned O'Driscoll, who also played the biggest matches for his province Leinster at Lansdowne. “I feel humbled by the reaction today. I have loved my time playing in this jersey, it has to come to an end at some stage and I am happy to go out with a big win.” The game was Ireland's penultimate Test of a Six Nations tournament which could see them seal the title with victory over France in Paris next Saturday as their points difference is far better than their rivals. The 27-point victory gives Ireland a commanding +81 points difference at the top of the table, before France and England take to the field against Scotland and two-time defending champion Wales, which is still also in the title hunt, Saturday and Sunday respectively.“We need to go to France with big positivity and try and relive what happened in 2000 (when Ireland won in Paris for the first time in 28 years),” said O'Driscoll. Crusaders remain unbeaten Crusaders flyhalf Tom Taylor kicked his third penalty with six minutes remaining to secure a 14-13 win over the Stormers in Super Rugby Saturday. The seven-time champion Crusaders retained an unbeaten record in home matches against overseas team stretching back to 2004. The Cape Town-based Stormers were level at 3-3 at halftime despite the home team having 80 percent of possession and 70 percent of territory. They then surged to a 13-3 lead with a brilliant second half try to center Damian de Allende. But the Crusaders hit back with a try to replacement Kieron Fonotia on debut and Taylor's late penalty gave them their first win in three matches this season. In Perth, the Western Force claimed their first victory in three Super Rugby matches this season, scoring 32 first-half points to beat the Melbourne Rebels 32-7. The Force dominated, with the Rebels scoring their only points on a try after the siren had sounded from Telusa Veainu. South African flyhalf Sias Ebersohn kicked two penalties and three conversions for the Perth-based side while captain Matt Hodgson scored a try in his 100th match for the Force. The Force had 75 percent possession in the first 30 minutes of the match while scoring four tries. In Pretoria, Bulls fly-half Jacques-Louis Potgieter scored 21 points as the Pretoria side ran out 38-22 winners over the Blues Saturday. — Agencies
