(Bloomberg) -- Ireland won a second consecutive Rugby 6 Nations trophy after it beat Scotland and England failed to defeat France by enough points.

Ireland won 40-10 in Edinburgh earlier today, leaving England needing to a 26-point victory at Twickenham Stadium in London to get the title. England beat France 55-35, unable to get try in the closing seconds despite being close to the line.

“Congratulations to Ireland,” England’s Ben Youngs said in a televised interview. “We started really well and positive and then allowed a couple loose tries. We left ourselves too much to do at the end.”

Ireland was undefeated up to the fourth round, when it lost to Wales 23-16 on March 14 in Cardiff. Wales won again today, beating Italy 61-20 in Rome.

The annual 6 Nations tournament, the world’s oldest rugby championship dating to 1883, is an important test for England, which will host the rugby World Cup in September.

Two tries by scrum-half Youngs put England up 27-15 at halftime. George Ford helped the hosts build the lead, scoring three conversions and two penalties and missing just one attempt. France’s Jules Plisson missed two penalties and a conversion in the half.

England, playing in front of 82,319 spectators, scored within the first two minutes of the game, going up by 7-0. France rallied back with a try from Sebastien Tillous-Borde after a video review by referee Nigel Owens and another by Noa Nakaitaci to go up 15-7.

France opened the second half with a quick try by Maxime Memoz and Plisson conversion to make it 27-22.

England’s Ford responded with a try off a Youngs pass and makes his own conversion to push the score to 34-22. A France penalty made it 34-25.

A Jack Nowell try and Ford conversion put England up 41-25 before flanker Jack Haskell was given a yellow card for a tackle on Plisson.

France refused to give up, coming back with a try to make it 41-30. Another Nowell try and Ford conversion brought England’s advantage to 20 points with five minutes remaining.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sara Marley in London at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at [email protected]