England has solid victory

England's Josh Lewsey, center, is sandwiched by Italy's Roberto Petrasi, left, and Gert Peens during their Six Nations match at Twickenham, London, Saturday. PHOTO: EPA

France Irish hopes of a first Grand Slam since 1948 with a 26-19 victory in the Six Nations on Saturday, while Mark Cueto's hat trick helped England end a four-loss streak by beating Italy 39-7.

Christophe Dominici scored two tries and Benoit Baby crossed the Ireland line on debut.

The French cruised to an 18-9 halftime lead and although Brian O'Driscoll's late try narrowed the gap to two points with seven minutes to go, Dominici's second score made sure of the French victory at Lansdowne Road.

The result means both sides have won three games out of four and are still in with a chance for the Six Nations title. But only Wales, which visits Scotland on Sunday, can win the Slam. Next week, Ireland visit Wales, and France go to Italy.

"The second try was a killer, because it came off a ball where we lost our lineout, and it was hard to recover from that," said Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan, who believed O'Driscoll's try should have set up an Irish victory.

"It was a top-drawer, world-class try. Once we got back to two points I thought we were in with a chance. I'd love to have held on for one more possession.

"We are very disappointed. But we've got to pick ourselves up. We must get back on the horse and see what happens next week. We're going to Cardiff next week with a chance for a Triple Crown."

Defending France was delighted to bounce back after losing at home to Wales two weeks ago.

"We are a young team which is building," France coach Bernard Laporte said. "We have seven players who are only 21. I am very happy with the spirit and determination and I am happy with the win."

After losing a test match at home to Australia and then three Six Nations matches against Wales, France and Ireland, Andy Robinson's England feared more humiliation against Italy at Twickenham, especially with captain Jason Robinson joining the long list of injured.

But Cueto scored three tries while hooker Steve Thompson, fullback Iain Balshaw and replacement forward Andy Hazell also beat the Italian cover.

"I am really pleased with the performance, and I was especially pleased with the way Mark Cueto, Iain Balshaw and Josh Lewsey performed in the back three," Robinson said.

England three tries in each half and was leading 22-0 by the time Troncon replied. Robinson's team hope to regain more confidence by beating Scotland at Twickenham next week when John Kirwan's Italians face France.