ASTUTE IRISH HALT REVIVAL
Yellow cards and slew of penalties make difference as hosts pounce on Scots’ ill-discipline
SCOTLAND’S bright revival came to a juddering halt in a pulsating but hugely frustrating RBS Six Nations finale, as Ireland exploited ill-discipline to claim a commanding victory.
Ironically, Vern Cotter’s team came i nto the game with the best disciplinary record of all the Championship sides.
They did manage to score three tries, but the more decisive statistics were their shipping of nine penalties in the first period and, crucially, losing John Barclay and Alex Dunbar to a yellow card in each half.
Their absences proved decisive as the Irish seized their chance to score three tries, and 19 points in all, in the 20 minutes that Scotland were short-handed.
With the visitors struggling for ball — the only Scotland scrum put-in coming in the third quarter — Scotland’s pack l acked the opportunity to exert the set-piece dominance that sparked victories over Italy and France, and Ireland’s experienced half-back duo of Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton proved the dominant force in the first half.
Ireland had not lost at home in their last eight games i n the Championship, and Scotland were searching for their first Six Nations win at the Aviva Stadium — their only victory in Dublin in the past 16 years coming at Croke Park in 2010. And although the Scots’ effort kept them in the contest until the final Irish try in the 68th minute, Greig Laidlaw’s troops finished secondbest in the key departments.
After a disappointing start to the tournament, drawing with Wales and losing to France and England, Ireland bounced back with nine tries against Italy last week and carried the momentum into the start of this punishing match.
But Scotland did not help themselves with faltering steps from the kick-off, Duncan Taylor kicking to nowhere, Tim Visser letting a Sexton kick-through bounce into touch, Stuart Hogg sending a wobbly clearance into the Irish half and Ryan Wilson knocking on when possession was recovered.
Ireland duly built the phases and, with Barclay twice being penalised, Sexton booted them into a 6-0 lead, and missed one attempt at goal. The fly-half was clearly targeting Visser’s flank with kicks, but Laidlaw snaffled one to finally give the Scots some ball to play with and, from their first attack, referee Pascal Gauzere penalised Ireland at a ruck and Laidlaw converted his first points, taking his personal Scotland tally to 501.
The next ruck produced another penalty, however. This time Richie Gray was the culprit and Sexton regained the six-point advantage.
Then Hogg did what Hogg does best. The full-back claimed an Irish high ball 10 metres inside his own half on the far left and sprinted infield, towards a home defensive line heavy with forwards.
He attacked front rows Rory Best and Mike Ross, and dummied the former to race between the two. Through into open prairie in the Irish half, he scorched away from the cover to the line for a stunning score that underlined his British and Irish Lions credentials. Laidlaw’s conversion took Scotland into the lead for the first time as the game entered the second quarter.
The Irish responded and attacked Scotland’s weak point, the maul defence. After the first one was sacked illegally, they kicked the resultant penalty to touch and drove again. This time it stayed up, but Scotland then lost Barclay to the sin-bin for another ruck infringement — which he and Laidlaw clearly disputed — and Ireland seized their opportunity.
The hosts scored two tries in the 10 minutes the flanker was kicking his heels, on the occasion of his 50th cap. South African CJ Stander finally broke the Scottish spirit by launching himself over a ruck and the line for Ireland’s first try — confirmed after a lengthy analysis by the TMO of what Scotland had claimed was obstruction in the lead-up.
And when Duncan Weir sent the restart straight into touch and the scrum was penalised, Ireland set the foundations for another score.
The wound was largely selfinflicted. Sexton chipped into the 22 and Hogg and Tommy Seymour collided going for the ball near the touchline — the full-back got there first but the ball bobbled off the winger and fell loose — leaving the Scots grounded and Irish wing Keith Earls thinking it was his birthday as the ball fell kindly for an easy run-in from 15 metres.
Sexton pulled his conversion and Scotland did superbly to keep the door shut in the face of almost unremitting pressure before Barclay returned and Laidlaw ended
the half with his second long-range penalty to leave an eight-point deficit at the break.
Scotland started the second half with greater purpose and possession — with a clear message from the coaches not to kick — but when Ireland got the ball back they swiftly returned proceedings to the first-half pattern.
Weir intercepted a pass to deny Ireland in the left-hand corner, after a fine break by Robbie Henshaw, and the Scots pack managed to hold up a lineout maul. But the alert scrum-half Murray picked up and dived over, Sexton’s conversion opening up a 15-point lead with half an hour of the game to go.
That seemed to be game over, but Scotland’s desire was clear as they stormed back. Lock Richie Gray rewarded that ambition when he galloped through a huge gap in the home defence in the 56th minute, Ireland having been sucked in by a concerted attack on the right where front rows Stuart McInally and WP Nel were only denied by furious defence, and with Laidlaw’s conversion cutting the home lead to eight points, Scotland drove back into the game in the final quarter.
However, just as Scots’ hopes were rising they fatally lost a second player to a yellow card — Dunbar being penalised for removing Sexton from a ruck by throwing him head over heels. Ireland took advantage, Devin Toner diving over the line and Sexton converting with 12 minutes left.
Scotland finished strongly in what was a niggly finale, with a series of clashes culminating in Sexton being yellow-carded with four minutes left for holding onto Gray after play had moved on. Dunbar scored a late try, but it was never going to be enough to reel the Irish back in.