Fitzgerald seals Irish triumph as Scots suffer
IRELAND made it two wins from their first two World Cup warm-up games but left it late to see off a determined Scotland in Dublin.
The game was tied at 7-7 at the break with Ireland’s Chris Henry powering over for the dominant hosts and Blair Cowan responding for Scotland.
Henry Pyrgos and Peter Horne scored tries as Scotland managed to get their noses in front three times in a pulsating second half.
But Ireland replied with tries by Sean Cronin and Simon Zebo before Luke Fitzgerald got the clinching touchdown.
Fly-half Ian Madigan, who will be back-up to Jonny Sexton at the World Cup, set up three tries and converted four of his five kicks.
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt said: ‘I thought it was a genuine test in all natures. Physically they brought a real collision focus. It was a test of character, falling behind a number of times and having to rebuild. I think we definitely showed a bit of rustiness.’
Ireland fans had their hearts in their mouths in the closing minutes when full-back Zebo limped out, but it was nothing more than cramp.
The Munster star, who also crossed during last Saturday’s win against Wales in Cardiff, said: ‘That was tiring. A really tough game and both teams had intent to play.
‘There’s a bit of confidence but at the same time we’re a bit rusty. It’s a tough standard to jump straight into. The players around me did very well.’
There was, however, a blow for Scotland in the first of their four warm-up matches, with British and Irish Lions prop Ryan Grant carried off on a stretcher early in the second half, with a protective boot strapped to his right ankle.
The defeat was a galling one for the Scots, but skipper Pyrgos was grasping only at positives on the final whistle.
‘Of course we’re hugely disappointed,’ he said. ‘I think we put ourselves in a position [to win the game],’ he said.
‘Ireland played well, congratulations to them, but we came to win. There are still positives though. We’re going in the right direction.
‘We scored three tries against a quality side but we’ll have to look at the defence.’