An organized England performance proved too good for Ireland in Cournon as Jim Mallinder's men finished on a high to claim fifth place at the IRB Under 21 World Championship.
England built on their hard-fought 15-8 half time lead with some fine forward play in the second period to retain control of the game in the pouring rain that marked the second half.
The match started at a punishing pace but was well balanced as first England took the lead through a penalty and then Ireland fought back through an O’Brien try.
Scrum half Danny Care then went over for England to regain the lead, but a Hallet penalty levelled it at 8-8. England's pack then worked itself into the ascendancy and a converted try by prop Rogers put them in 15-8 up at the break.
The continued downpour in the second half made handling increasingly difficult and in the conditions England's muscular and powerful pack rose to the occasion, working hard to give Ryan Lamb the platform from which to pin Ireland in their own half.
Rogers' second try took England further ahead but Ireland never gave up. Wilson's late tackle forced England to finish the game with 14 men but in the last minute flanker Hills scored to cap off a satisfying win for England.
Quotes
Dorian West, England coach: Against Ireland it was, as ever, a very physical match. We controlled territory well and we can only be satisfied as we finished the season with nine wins and only one loss. We just lost the wrong match against New Zealand.
Matt Cornwell, England captain: We're very pleased to finish with a win, it's the best way to end it after losing to New Zealand.
Mark McDermott, Ireland coach: We're very disappointed and in my opinion the final score doesn't reflect the difference between the two sides. They took their chances. We didn't. But overall we're happy as we've had a good look at some players who will feed into the senior team in the future.