Scotland 10 Ireland 6:A late try from Joe Ansbro that had a lot to do with an illegal block in midfield helped Scotland beat Ireland in a scrappy friendly international at Murrayfield.
Declan Kidney’s side had led 6-3 thanks to two penalties from outhalf Jonathan Sexton to one from Scottish fullback Chris Paterson, when the home side worked a good lineout win out wide.
Scottish centre Graeme Morrison did a fine number on his Irish counterpart Paddy Wallace to allow substitute Nick De Luca the space to release Ansbro on a free run down the wing.
The London Irish player showed plenty of gas and a quick change of direction sent him clear of the covering Àndrew Trimble to score his first international try.
It was the only moment of brilliance in a match that had pre-season stamped all over it with two rusty teams producing plenty of toil but little to warm the 28,288 crowd on a surprisingly cold afternoon in Edinburgh.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney will be satisfied that Rob Kearney, Tomás O’Leary and Jerry Flannery gained match time after returning from lengthy injury lay-offs. Otherwise he will have gleaned little new information, although the lively Andrew Trimble will have done his World Cup hopes some good.
Scotland controlled territory and possession for long spells of a messy encounter, but they were at their best in the first half.
Twice they had early sights of the line, but their ball was slow and they forced their attack in the face of some resolute defending.
It was a nervy start from Ireland, who endured more worrying moments when Morrison was stopped inches short of the whitewash. Another half-chance was blown as Nikki Walker failed to gather a potentially scoring pass just five metres out.
The Irish were relieved when they finally escaped their 22 with quick hands releasing Trimble, only for Seán Cronin to then knock on.
A collapsed scrum gave Scotland their third penalty in 15 minutes and they also won a free-kick at a set-piece shortly after.
Using short inside passes to good effect, the Scots continued to make inroads before an offside saw another promising attack falter.
Sexton went close to producing a moment of brilliance but his lofted ball to Kearney was marginally forward.
The moment sparked a spell of dominance from Ireland and while they looked more decisive on the ball, their lack of dynamism made the defenders’ task easy.
The scoreboard finally moved after Sexton landed a penalty but when Scotland were given the same chance within kicking range, they instead opted for a lineout.
The move looked promising until scrum-half Rory Lawson fumbled the ball and although a scrum quickly followed, the Scots’ inaccuracy let them down.
Trimble nearly threaded his way though a gap early in the second half, while Scotland squandered a glorious chance to snatch the lead when John Beattie intercepted a chip from Luke Fitzgerald.
Instead of taking his time on the ball, he panicked and fed prop Geoff Cross when unmarked openside Ross Rennie was available on his right shoulder.
Paterson slotted a penalty to ensure the move was rewarded, the cue for the match to deteriorate as a spectacle as possession repeatedly changed hands.
Light rain made the conditions slippery and any momentum was not helped by Scotland and Ireland emptying their benches.
Sexton booted a penalty and watched as Paterson missed a very kickable opportunity to level the score, before fluffing a long-range effort himself.
The match finally came alive in its final throes when Ansbro turned on the afterburners with Ruaridh Jackson converting to seal the victory.
Scotland:C Paterson; N Walker, J Ansbro, G Morrison, S Lamont; R Jackson, R Lawson (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, J Hamilton, R Gray, A Strokosch, R Rennie, J Beattie.
Replacements:J Cuthbert for Walker (22 mins), A Kellock for Hamilton, D Denton for Beattie, A Dickinson for Jacobsen (all 57 mins), N De Luca for Paterson, G Laidlaw for Lawson, D Hall for Ford (all 70 mins),
Ireland:R Kearney; A Trimble, F McFadden, P Wallace, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton, T O'Leary; T Court, S Cronin, T Buckley, D Ryan, L Cullen (capt), McCarthy, N Ronan, D Leamy.
Replacements:K McLaughlin for Ryan (52 mins), J Hayes for Buckley, M Horan for Court, J Flannery for Cronin, M O'Driscoll for Cullen, F Jones for Fitzgerald, I Boss for O'Leary (all 61 mins).
