SLAMBOLIC
First-half horror show leaves Ireland with too much to do as clinical Scotland take the spoils
STUNNING. February is not supposed to produce high-scoring international classics. Nor is it supposed to be about underdogs and upsets. But that’s what we got in Edinburgh yesterday. Ireland’s Grand Slam hopes were smashed into smithereens just one round into the fivematch campaign which was supposed to climax with a third Six Nations title in four seasons.
A title is still a possibility, even after England’s narrow win over France, but it’s a much more onerous task in the wake of this result. Vern Cotter’s battlers made light of recent history and denied Ireland a 15th win in 18 championship meetings, in the process getting their own schedule off to a winning start for only the second time since the Five Nations became Six.
Despite their territorial dominance and lion’s share of the possession, it wasn’t the closing 10 minutes (during which Greig Laidlaw landed two penalty kicks to sweep Scotland to their five-point victory) that did for Ireland. It was the unscripted firsthalf disaster. Ireland were 16 points in arrears and Scotland just one effort short of the four-try bonus point after just 29 minutes.
They showed courage to battle back to get in front, Paddy Jackson converting his own try to put them a point clear with 17 minutes to go. The effort, however, had taken too much from them and they were leaden-footed from here until the finish, trooping away in disgust that they had been sucker-punched.
If Laidlaw was the hero off the tee, punishing Jackson for not rolling away at a ruck and replacement Tommy Bowe for his high shot on Tommy Seymour, it was full-back Hogg’s pace allied to a shocking lapse of concentration at a lineout which really undid high Irish hopes in an opening half-hour where they looked a shadow of the team that swept aside South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in 2016.
Only the penalty-milking scrum emerged with credit; every other aspect of play let them down at some stage. The lineout maul was inefficient in the Scots’ 22 with penalty kicks to the corner going unrewarded. The more vaunted Irish back row never held sway either, typified by the unusual sight of Jamie Heaslip getting into penalty trouble at the breakdown.
And then there was the defence. So many have spoken about the fact that Andy Farrell’s arrival had seen the development of a harder edge, but even when they were knocking over the big guns they were in the habit of leaking tries; the level of leakage yesterday was, ultimately, too damaging to absorb.
The forecast bad weather never materialised and with Ireland way too narrow in defence, the Scottish tactic of getting the ball wide and often to rangy fullback Hogg worked a treat and resulted in two scores for him in the opening 21 minutes.
Tagged by Joe Schmidt as ‘unlucky losers’ during the Cotter era, the Scots’ luck was certainly in here. Hogg’s first impact on nine minutes stemmed from a Garry Ringrose gamble that didn’t pay off. Hogg tidied up and made the line.
What followed was a 12minute period riddled with Irish errors. The maul didn’t execute in scoring range, Conor Murray uncharacteristically knocked-on, while a Richie Gray lineout steal ruined another chance, all nuisance incidents that left Ireland prone to Hogg’s second sucker punch. He caught Rob Kearney in two minds and stepped inside, eluding Keith Earls’ despairing attempt at an ankle tap and racing all the way.
Ireland didn’t roll over, grabbing a try back within five minutes. A Jackson burst put them into the 22 and, with a penalty advantage coming, Zebo found try-scorer Earls despite touching Seymour’s finger tips.
That should have been the cue for an Irish takeover. But the Scots forced a five-metre lineout and the Irish forwards inexplicably switched off, allowing centre Alex Dunbar, standing behind scrum-half Laidlaw
at the front, to grab the short throw and breeze over. Laidlaw’s conversion pushed the score to 21-5 and a crisis was now unfolding. Jackson, who had missed a conversion, landed a penalty for offside on 34 minutes, and Ireland then chased down the first score of the second half with vengeance, Iain Henderson burrowing over for the 48th minute try converted by Jackson.
There were only six points in the difference now but Ireland handed Scotland a hat-trick of let-offs before finally hitting the front. Two Heaslip errors, a penalty concession and a rash offload, ruined two chances. Then Earls crossed the line only to see his effort ruled out as Kearney, who’d passed, was in touch. It all seemed to come right when Jackson beat off Josh Strauss to score 17 minutes from time.
The conversion put Ireland in front but, drained, they couldn’t hang on. Laidlaw kicked the Scots’ first points in 43 minutes with seven remaining, and then added his second penalty with time up. Stunning.