Rampant Ireland set up tantalising quarter-final rematch against New Zealand by condemning ragged rivals Scotland to another early World Cup exit with a crushing 36-14 bonus-point success in Paris.
Gregor Townsend’s men required a heroic win by eight points or more at Stade de France to snatch progression at the expense of their opponents.
But Test rugby’s top-ranked nation emphatically underlined their status with a thrilling display of attacking verve to avoid major drama in a feisty encounter.
James Lowe’s early try settled any nerves before Hugo Keenan crossed either side of a score from the recalled Iain Henderson to quickly take the game away from the shell-shocked Scots before the break.
Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose added to the embarrassment before Scottish pair Ewan Ashman and Ali Price claimed quickfire consolations.
Ireland will take on the All Blacks in the last eight, seeking to avenge the 46-14 thrashing suffered at the same stage of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Head coach Andy Farrell perhaps has cause for concern ahead of that showdown due apparent injuries suffered by wings Mack Hansen and Lowe.
Scotland, meanwhile, face an early flight home for the second successive tournament, with South Africa going through as Pool B runners-up to take on hosts France.
Premature departures for Blair Kinghorn, Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham due to fitness issues contributed to their woes, while Ollie Smith was shown a yellow card for causing a mass brawl.
The Scots came into the competition with one of their most talented teams in years but, following a chastening evening in the French capital, were left to rue being placed in the most difficult group alongside the reigning champions and the world’s number one team.
Permutations, premature elimination and the slim possibility of the Springboks crashing out dominated the build-up to a titanic qualification shoot-out in Saint-Denis.
A deafening roar greeted the teams and the decibels were raised further among the dominant Irish support with just over a minute on the clock when Hansen sent Lowe over in the left corner after Ringrose dummied his way beyond Grant Gilchrist.
Scotland roared back and showed a statement of intent by kicking a series of penalties to the corner, forcing Ireland to ferociously repel prolonged pressure.
But their cause was not helped by losing full-back Kinghorn, whose 50th cap lasted just nine minutes, and captain Ritchie, while Ireland wing Hansen also went off.
Ireland’s defiant defending was matched equally by awesome attacking enterprise and they stretched the scoreboard significantly with two quickfire tries.
Delightful slick interplay from right to left unlocked the Scottish backline, culminating in Ringrose teeing up the onrushing Keenan in the 27th minute, before Henderson marked his first start of the tournament by bulldozing over minutes later.
Far from thinking about the knock-out stages, Scotland trudged down the tunnel at the break fearing humiliation.
Ireland’s well-oiled machine led 26-0 ahead at that stage with a bonus point in the bag after Johnny Sexton set up Keenan’s second and then sent over his third successful conversion.
Scotland desperately needed to show some fight and did so as tempers boiled over early in the second period during a melee sparked by Smith’s off-the-ball trip on Sexton.
Players from both sides piled in, with Pierre Schoeman and Sheehan ploughing over an advertising board, before instigator Smith was sin-binned.
Sheehan was on the floor again minutes later, this time diving over to claim Ireland’s fifth try before Farrell wisely withdrew talisman Sexton, in addition to five of his forwards.
Jack Crowley’s fine cross-field kick sent over Ringrose before Scottish resistance finally materialised in the shape of a pair of well-taken scores, each converted by the largely subdued Finn Russell.
Replacement hooker Ashman made an immediate impact by galloping over on the right to ensure his side were not whitewashed, before scrum-half Price finished a fine team move.
Yet their endeavours mattered little as Ireland comfortably marched on thanks to a 17th successive win and a ninth in a row against the eliminated Scots.
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England aiming to be one of 'world's best' teams, says Earl
England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.
The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.
England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.
Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.
“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.
“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best.
“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.
“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”
New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.
Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.
“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.
England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.
“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said.
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