Ireland fires up to sink Scotland

IRELAND bullied Scotland again, winning 27-3, in the Rugby World Cup yesterday and looked set to avoid defending champion New Zealand in the quarter-finals.

Ranked No.1 until today, Ireland played like a serious World Cup title contender by dominating every category against its regular doormat, Scotland.

In the past 20 Six Nations head-to-heads, Ireland has beaten Scotland 16 times.

The Irish pack ran the show in the first half, with tries in the first 24 minutes to tight five forwards James Ryan, Tadhg Furlong and 37-year-old captain and hooker Rory Best.

Rain arrived as forecast just before the interval, and Ireland added the bonus-point fourth try to wing Andrew Conway inside an hour.

On this performance, Ireland should win Pool A.

The Irish have games to go against host Japan, Russia and Samoa.

Scotland came to the contest with its most battlehardened side for a World Cup match and lots of talk. It didn’t matter. As usual, Scotland was its own worst enemy, committing 12 handling errors and eight turnovers on attack.

Earlier, Italy scored three tries in 10 minutes to give itself some breathing room against a stubborn Namibia before recording a 47-22 win in their pool opener in Osaka.

The Italians had dominated much of the play at Hanazono Stadium in yesterday’s first half, with their forwards providing a stable base to attack and create space. But it was not until scrumhalf Tito Tebaldi scored on the stroke of halftime that they were able to pull away. Winger Edoardo Padovani and replacement Carlo Canna both crossed shortly after the break to put the game beyond doubt.