Ireland have continued their impressive start to the Rugby World Cup by claiming a comfortable 44-10 victory over Pool D rivals Romania at Wembley.
Despite some quiet spells, Ireland were dominant throughout on the way to clinching the win and extra point in front of 89,267 people as Wembley once again held a record crowd for a World Cup game.
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It was evident from the early drives that Ireland would be threatening with a quick tempo, and Romania found it difficult to land any blows in the battle for territory as Joe Schmidt watched his side remain stubborn in defence.
Ian Madigan scored a penalty either side of Valentin Calafeteanu's successful effort from close to the touchline with Romania offering signs that they could be difficult to break down, but it looked like the army of Ireland fans had been treated to a special moment just prior to their fly-half making it 6-3.
The first try of the afternoon appeared to arrive when Simon Zebo raced through to collect his own low kick before completing a brilliant piece of play by sliding in, but a replay proved that the full-back had a foot out of play while retrieving the ball moments earlier.
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It was the wingers who did deliver the opening try as Keith Earls claimed a high ball off the kick before Ireland moved it quickly to release Tommy Bowe, whose slide in the opposite corner was confirmed as the TMO delighted those in green in the stands.
After playing such a key role in unlocking the Romanian line, Earls then registered a try of his own as Zebo took three players out of the game with a fine pass to allow his teammate to cross the line with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
Ireland struggled to keep up the same intensity heading into the interval, but they needed just four second-half minutes to extend their advantage as Eoin Reddan's decision to split the opposition with a kick along the floor allowed Earls to equal Brian O'Driscoll's Irish record of seven World Cup tries.
Another flat spell followed, despite Ireland's dominance, and their attacking fluency did not return until Csaba Gal was sent to the sin-bin for impeding Reddan, and the inside-centre was forced to watch his teammates collapse from the sidelines in a frantic spell.
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Replacement Paddy Jackson moved the ball quickly enough to give Bowe an easy passage, and he offered another reminder of his qualities to Schmidt by delivering the bonus point which ensured Ireland moved ahead of France in Pool D.
There was still time for more as Ireland used the man advantage well to score a second try in the space of three minutes with another of Schmidt's replacements making an impact as Rob Kearney combined with Zebo before crossing over.
Madigan was unable to add the conversion, but it was a rare moment of disappointment for Ireland as they became just the second side after Scotland to claim maximum points from their opening two fixtures.
A tiring Romania were no match for their opponents in the closing stages as another converted try arrived when Chris Henry completed an impressive driving maul, and not even a late consolation try from Ovidiu Tonita could halt the celebrations as Ireland eased to the win.
Callum Mulvihill
