Six Nations: Scotland 18 Ireland 32
Ireland moved top of the Guinness Six Nations table with another maximum five-point haul and while their attempt to win an unprecedented three titles in a row still has plenty of road to travel, they are now the only team which can win the Grand Slam.
In truth, the final margin ought really to have been bigger, such was the continuing gulf between the teams as Ireland extended their winning run over Scotland to 11 matches.
Ireland left chances aplenty behind in leading 17-0 at the break, but save for an 11-point salvo either side of half-time were largely in command throughout. The set pieces were solid, their exits supreme and they won the collisions, also picking their moments to go after turnovers as the backrow of Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier and the immense Caelan Doris eclipsed their Scottish counterparts.
Andrew Porter had his usual big game and Ronan Kelleher’s workaholic first-half performance was further evidence of Ireland’s healthy rivalry as much as Dan Sheehan’s impact. Tadgh Beirne’s blue helmet was everywhere as he was constant nuisance value to the Scots.
Scotland weren’t helped by a sickening clash of heads which forced Finn Russell and Darcy Graham off in the 22nd minute. This was compounded by their 6-2 split, forcing them to utilise both back replacements. It was a very tough blow, but it’s doubtful the result would have been any different anyway.
In stark contrast to the Scots, Ireland’s body language oozed self-belief and composure, particularly at halfback where Jamison Gibson-Park was an inventive heartbeat, while Sam Prendergast controlled everything in his inimitable style with his array of well-timed passes and well-struck kicks. He really is a class act. James Lowe again provided a timely spark and Hugo Keenan utterly outplayed Blair Kinghorn.
Ireland flew out of the traps, gaining an early foothold when Kinghorn failed to gather a box kick by Jamison Gibson-Park. A clever launch play off the ensuing scrum – Prendergast taking the ball flat to the line and Lowe coming off his wing to feed Robbie Henshaw for a big gallop – led to a fairly slick seven-phase attack.
Pinged twice in the red zone Scotland were probably saved a yellow card when Prendergast used an advantage to float a long flat pass for the recalled Calvin Nash to score. Prendergast landed a good conversion.
Cue the almost customary pandemonium in this fixture. Beirne departed for an HIA, and within four minutes so did Ryan Baird to be temporarily replaced by Jack Conan. Both passed their HIAs as Beirne returned.
The Scots looked anxious in every department, Finn Russell and Kinghorn knocking on. Robbie Henshaw hacked on and Calvin Nash gave chase, nudging the ball into the in-goal area and looked sure to score his second try until being shoved from behind and to the ground by Duhan van der Merwe.
The Scottish was pinged and pinned but, preposterously the four officials decreed that there were not grounds for a penalty try as the ball went dead. Well, yes, but only after van der Mere kicked it dead. It simply had to be a penalty try.
What is more, Ronan Kelleher was held up over the line, as was Caelan Doris from a tap penalty trick play by Jack Dempsey.
Still, Hugo Keenan was composure personified at the back with a couple of good takes and one well struck left-footed clearance, as was Prendergast in giving himself room for a clearance with a dummy. By contrast, Scotland had the jitters, Kinghorn had a kick charged down by Prendergast when the latter chased his own improvised kick, with Nash and Andrew Porter also charging down clearances.
By then, Scotland had lost both Russell and Darcy Graham after they clashed heads in trying to keep out Gibson-Park from Lowe’s offload.
Prendergast’s penalty to make it 10-0 was scant reward for Ireland’s 10 minutes of pressure against 14 men, but Peter O’Mahony won one brilliant turnover before Ireland struck again off a scrum penalty advantage.
This time Prendergast attacked the blindside before Doris crashed over from the recycle and Gibson-Park’s pass.
However, Prendergast kicked the restart ball out on the full and Scotland also twice kicked penalties towards the corner. James Ryuan stole the first and Beirne, helped by others, effected a superb turnover off the second. But the Scots piled in when Doris was chopped down by Rory Darge, Dave Cherry tapped the penalty and van der Merwe made a typically acrobatic finish when Stafford McDowall got outside Josh van der Flier, drawing in Keenan, and offloaded for a typically acrobatic finish by van der Merwe with the last play of the half.
Re-energised, Scotland ran hard and direct on the resumption, Kinghorn trimmed the Irish lead to 17-8 with a penalty. Then, after a misread by Henshaw when beaten on the outside by Davies and a try-saving tackle by Gibson-Park on Kinghorn, the Scottish fullback made it 17-11.
Ireland needed a lift, and Lowe provided it. He instigated an attack out of nothing to link with Doris and Gibson-Park, the scrumhalf chip and tackle on Kinghorn earning a five-metre scrum. Not afraid to give this phased attack some width, Lowe eventually plundered a try from Keenan’s good pass, beating Kinghorn and doing well to ground the ball when double tackled. Not for the first time, you wondered how many other players could have scored it.
Within five minutes Ireland struck again, maintaining an attack which saw Keenan call for a chip over the top from Gibson-Park which he chased and jumped to gather, being tackled in the air by Kinghorn. Porter’s workrate and clearout meant Ireland could use the advantage and Conan took a good line on to Henshaw’s pass to seal both the bonus point and the deal.
A defeatist hush fell over Murrayfield with 15 minutes remaining and with Jack Crowley on at fullback, Prendergast tagged on a 45-metre penalty before Ben White darted over for a try which was not even of much consolation to the deflated home crowd.
Scoring sequence: 7 mins Nash try, Prendergast con 0-7; 23 mins Prendergast pen 0-10; 31 mins Doris try, Prendergast con 0-17; 40 (+1) mins van der Merwe try 5-17; (half-time 5-17); 43 mins Kinghorn pen 8-17; 49 mins Kinghorn pen 11-17; 54 mins Lowe try, Prendergast con 11-24; 59 mins Conan try 11-29; 70 mins Prendergast pen 11-32; 75 mins White try, Kinghorn con 18-32.
Scotland: Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, Huw Jones, Tom Jordan, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell (co-capt), Ben White; Rory Sutherland, Dave Cherry, Zander Fagerson, Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge (co-capt), Jack Dempsey.
Replacements: Stafford McDowall for Russell (22 mins), Jamie Dobie for Graham (22 mins), Ewan Ashman for Cherry, Pierre Schoeman for Sutherland, Gregor Brown for Gray (all 48 mins), Jamie Ritchie for Dempsey (60 mins), Will Hurd for Fagerson, Sam Skinner for Gilchrist (both 68 mins).
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham, James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).
Replacements: Ryan Baird for Beirne (10-14 mins) and for Ryan (65 mins), Jack Conan for Baird (14-19 mins) and for O’Mahony (52 mins), Beirne for Conan (19 mins), Dan Sheehan for Kelleher (half-time), Thomas Clarkson for Bealham (60 mins), Garry Ringrose for Aki (58 mins), Jack Crowley for Nash (65 mins), Cian Healy for Porter, Conor Murray for Gibson-Park (both 70 mins).
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
