Wales march on and Scotland topple England

By Justin Palmer

LONDON (Reuters) - Wales's renaissance under Warren Gatland continued with a 16-12 win over Ireland on Saturday that put the Six Nations title and a second grand slam in four years within sight.

A battling performance at Croke Park in Dublin means only France, who will run out in the cauldron of the Millennium Stadium next Saturday, stand between Wales and the grand slam.

"The goal is to win the championship. The triple crown is great, as would be the grand slam, but we will see what happens tomorrow (between France and Italy) and see what the points difference is so we know what we need next week," said Gatland.

"It will be tough (against France). We are at home though, which is nice, and importantly things are in our own hands and we are not relying on anyone else to cause an upset," he told a post-match news conference.

While Wales celebrated the triple crown and four successive wins under Gatland, Scotland overshadowed England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson's feat of becoming the leading points scorer in test rugby by beating the World Cup finalists 15-9 at Murrayfield.

In a game of attrition dominated by the packs on a soggy afternoon, Scotland got off the mark in this season's tournament with Chris Paterson slotting home four penalties.

Wilkinson replied with three of his own to take his tally to 1099 in tests, nine more than Welshman Neil Jenkins, but defeat leaves England's title hopes in tatters after a second defeat.

Victory for Wales was all the sweeter for Gatland, who was dismissed as Ireland coach in 2001 and replaced by current incumbent Eddie O'Sullivan.