Scotland blow it at end again to hand victory to Ireland
Could have, would have, should have. With the rub of the green Scotland could be challenging for the Six Nations title, but for the second match in succession they came off second best and lost a winnable Murrayfield match at the death.
Unlike their loss to Wales, this time it was the Scots who were under the cosh but came from behind, yet the outcome remained the same.
There was much to laud in the way Gregor Townsend’s men fought back from 24-10 down in the second half, scoring tries on the hour and with just six minutes to go to draw back to 24-24. Yet the propensity to give away crucial penalties at the worst possible time was once again in evidence, when scrum-half Ali Price was charged down and gave away a penalty in his own 22 with less than five minutes on the clock. Johnny Sexton’s penalty – his fifth of the afternoon – gave Ireland their sixth successive win over Scotland.
“As much as I, the players and the supporters are down about this, there is still a lot to be proud of,” said Scotland coach Townsend.
“In two games in a row they have come back and created opportunities to at least draw. We wanted to move Ireland around but we didn’t get the set-piece ball to threaten them and had to rely on counterattack ball or restarts or turnovers.”
Such slim pickings were never going to be enough against a brutally efficient Ireland side. While the Scots excelled in attack, breaking 22 tackles to Ireland’s six, they were hamstrung by a succession of penalties at crucial points, 14 largely breakdown-related turnovers and an unmitigated horror show at the line-out.
Possession is key against Ireland, but at the line-out Scotland were targeted by Ireland’s forwards, who won a remarkable six of Scotland’s eight throw-ins. Nor was this simply about field position, with the majority of Ireland’s first-half points coming directly from line-out steals.
The visitors’ first try was a case in point. Sexton had already got Ireland off the mark when Finn Russell killed the ball at a ruck under Scotland’s posts, when a line-out steal allowed the outstanding Sexton to kick cross-field for Keith Earls. Stuart Hogg and Chris Harris rose to contest the ball, only for it to fall for Robbie Henshaw for the try.
Russell registered Scotland’s first points when referee Romain Poite penalised Ireland for hands in the ruck before some sharp opportunism saw the Scots take the lead on the half-hour. CJ Stander had turned over Scotland, Hogg charged down Garry Ringrose’s telegraphed clearing kick, hacking on, with Russell beating Will Connors and James Lowe to touch down, the conversion giving Scotland a 10-8 lead.
Another line-out steal gave Ireland a route back into the game, Sexton kicking to Duhan van der Merwe, the wing holding on as he was engulfed. Russell missed a longrange penalty after the Irish crossed at their own line-out, but when Price strayed offside on the stroke of half-time, Sexton kicked the visitors to a 14-10 lead.
If the line-out was Scotland’s Achilles’ heel in the first half, after the break their breakdown work was their undoing. First Hamish Watson and then Jamie Ritchie gave away penalties, Sexton kicking to the corner and Ireland’s forwards muscling Tadhg Beirne over. With Scotland identified as the villains of the piece, another ruck penalty allowed Sexton to extend Ireland’s lead to 24-10.
An injection of fresh players was to prove crucial, Hogg coming into the line with real intent and feeding Huw Jones, the outside centre smashing through attempted tackles by Lowe, Hugo Keenan, Jamison Gibson-park and Ringrose to go over moments after coming on.
With Russell off having a head injury assessment, Hogg kicked the conversion.
The Scots were in full cry with 10 minutes to go. A series of penalties on Ireland’s line saw the home side go into full Luke Cowan-dickie mode, tapping and charging in what felt like the game’s definitive passage. Eventually the ball was spun wide to Van der Merwe, who was snagged by Connors but so close it felt like he could reach out and touch down. Instead the ball was moved infield, Watson forcing his way over and Hogg adding the extras to bring Scotland back on level terms.
Yet no sooner had Scotland dragged themselves back into this game than they threw it away when Price dallied on a clearing box-kick in his own 22 with five minutes to go and was charged down by Ryan Baird. The scrum-half regathered only to be swamped and penalised for holding on, Sexton kicking the penalty to register Ireland’s 10th win over Scotland in 11 meetings.
For the second successive match, it was the cruellest of ways to lose.