Captain Reggie Corrigan paid tribute to his pack after Ireland A's two tries to nil victory over England A at Franklin's Gardens.

This 25-18 win came hot on the heels of their 55-22 thrashing of Wales A a fortnight ago and the Leinster prop admitted everything so far had gone according to plan.

"We had a great start to the competition against Wales and we were determined to follow that through with a good result here," he said.

"It wasn't an easy thing to do, to come over here to Northampton and try to win at quite an intimidating venue, but I have to say I was very happy with the way the guys performed and their attitude on the pitch."

Corrigan felt the performance from the front eight had laid the foundations for what was a good overall performance by the visitors.

"In the scrum we were putting England under a lot of pressure, especially in the first half. And at crucial stages - when we were on our own line - we got turnover ball," he explained.

"Our mauls and our driving mauls were fantastic. We went through the middle of the England pack. They didn't seem to be able to cope with it."

He added: "Our defence on the fringes was magnificent. No-one was found wanting, everybody put their bodies on the line and when the backs got the opportunities they ran with flair and put us in a good position."

That flair was evident with tries from John Kelly and Tyrone Howe either side of the break - the second a well-worked effort that saw Howe pop up from the left wing to score in the right-hand corner.

In reply, England wasted two good attacking opportunities in the first half and had to settle for an 18-point haul from fly-half Andy Goode, thanks to his six penalties.

The sin-binning of captain Nick Walshe just before the hour did nothing to aid England's cause either.

They conceded the try by Howe and one of five Paul Burke penalties in the 10-minute spell the Saracens scrum-half was off the pitch.

England coach Ged Glynn was clearly a disappointed man but warned his side would learn from the defeat.

"Tonight just showed our lack of experience," he said.

"It was an Irish second team against and England development side and I think we were taught a lesson.

"The biggest lesson we learnt was that you have got to keep the ball when you have it and not give it away."

Glynn refused to blame Walshe for the defeat but admitted: "It's always disappointing to lose a player off the pitch, but I'm sure the referee saw it clearly because it was right in front of him."

Scotland A's goalkicking hero Gordon Ross shrugged off the pressure after his last-gasp conversion gave his side a thrilling 30-29 victory in Italy.

Derrick Lee's try five minutes into stoppage time set up Ross for his dramatic winner.

"It was a bit nerve wracking, but it goes with the territory. That's why you are in the game," said Ross.

"If I'd missed I would have got abuse instead of praise, but you train for those moments. Derrick scored quite near the posts and made it easier for me."

Ross led the way with a try, three conversions and three penalties, with Steve Scott and Lee also scoring tries.

For Italy, Andrea de Rossi scored their only try with Francesco Mazzariol kicking four penalties and Gert Peens two penalties and a drop goal.

"It didn't look too good at various stages but we dug deep and battled through," added Ross.

"The other Scottish sides seem to lose but we usually manage to pull through."