IRELAND GET HOGG ROASTED
Stuart is hero as Scots finally win Six Nations opener
Vern Cotter last night hailed Scotland’s stunning Six Nations win over Ireland as his greatest success as national boss.
The Dark Blues head coach watched his side fight back to win 27-22 after blowing a 21-5 lead to trail by one point going into the closing minutes.
Two tries from hero Stuart Hogg helped seal a famous first opening-day win for Scotland
since 2006. Hogg’s tries and an Alex Dunbar score threatened to put the Scots out of sight before half-time but an Irish fightback looked like making it the same old story before Laidlaw’s rescue act.
Cotter admits the final moments were agony but the win is as good as it gets against a side which defeated the All Blacks three months ago.
The Scotland coach said: “This would have to be my best result. I’m so happy for the players, you saw the determination they had to succeed.
“I was struggling up in the coaches box in the final minutes but we will now enjoy it for five minutes but this changes the dynamic.
“If you start the Six Nations with a win then everyone speaks about it but it’s only one win.
“The feet will be on the ground very quickly and we need to back it up against France next week.
“A lot of things came off even though I didn’t think we started too well but we made up for it.
“The boys rolled up their sleeves as we knew Ireland would come out strong but we defended well.
“What was nice was watching us stop them scoring, keeping them out on the line and being able to get a grip of the game in the last ten minutes.”