Ireland finished their Six Nations campaign for 2016 with a win against Scotland in Dublin.
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Matters improved for the visitors in the second 40, presumably Vern Cotter’s half-time team talk employed words of one syllable and plenty of them, but although the visitors added two tries the Scots never seriously threatened Ireland’s lead.
Johnny Sexton was sin-binned late on for Ireland for killing the ball, and that after being upended by Dunbar for the Scotland centre’s earlier yellow card.
Ireland, champions for the last two seasons, will finish third in the table if England complete a grand slam of victories against France later this morning.
Minutes later, Hogg and winger Tommy Seymour collided as they attempted to deal with Sexton’s kick through, and Earls pounced on the loose ball to run through unchallenged for his 17th try for Ireland.
Sexton slotted three penalties amid the dominance, only to miss another he would expect to have nailed.
Eight minutes after the restart Conor Murray scored his third try of the championship, nipping home once more from a yard out, to put 15 points between the sides.
Ireland’s slight lead would hardly suffice, though, and a team that put nine tries past Italy in Week 4 was now under pressure to recall that same strain of imagination against far tougher opposition.
Scotland captain Gregor Laidlaw admitted their indiscipline had let them down.
Devin Toner, Ireland, scores his side’s fourth try of the game.
“The challenge for us now is to keep constructing our game and enjoy the last coming together of the championship in a Scotland jersey, against an Ireland team full of confidence after a convincing win over Italy”.
After the sides traded penalties, the electric Stuart Hogg, not for the first time, lit up the play, darting past two of the Irish frontrow on the halfway line and speeding home to touch down for his second try in as many games. No title but lots to build on heading to South Africa in June.
Joe Schmidt is the sort of guy who could take positives from an elephant stampede though a mud hut village.
Ireland: S Zebo; A Trimble (F McFadden 78), J Payne, R Henshaw, K Earls; J Sexton, C Murray (E Reddan 79); J McGrath (C Healy 68), R Best (capt, R Strauss 68), M Ross (N White 60); D Ryan (U Dillane 70), D Toner; CJ Spander, T O’Donnell (R Ruddock 70), J Heaslip. The game became an unusually feisty encounter with repeated scuffles between the teams.
“He would be fit to play but at the same time is carrying a few knocks”.
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Like most, we had expected – and hoped, that Scotland would come on with the adrenaline, the charge, the strategic plan and the self belief they had shown in their magnificent defeat of France last weekend – and take the win they needed to seal their final emergence from the gloom years. There is Pro12 business to attend to next, though, and there will be an instant reunion for some as league leaders Connacht host Leinster in Galway next Saturday.
