Scotland, inspired by hat-trick man Andy Henderson, beat Ireland's World Cup hopefuls 31-21 in their World Cup warm-up at Murrayfield on Saturday.
World Cup warm-up games are a tricky proposition. You either use them to give your full strength side valuable game time, or on the other hand you can utilise them as a means of firming up your final squad. Either way there are risks, the choice is down to the coach as to how much he gambles.
The usually shrewd Eddie O'Sullivan went the route of giving fringe players a run out in an attempt to gain peace of mind that his squad has the necessary depth to compete at the World Cup. It failed, and what's more it failed so miserably that Ireland, dark horses for the World Cup, will leave Edinburgh having gained nothing of note from the game.
Frank Hadden, on the other hand, saw his gamble pay off handsomely. Opting to run his senior troops out and ensure they rid themselves of any rust that had built up since their last outing, a deflating defeat to France, he couldn't have dreamed of a better result.
The timely return of Jason White in the back row gave the Scottish a visible lift. So too did the inclusion of Chris Paterson at fly-half, a masterstroke from Hadden that could well have come in the nick of time for a side who showed more class and diversity in one game here than they did in the entire Six Nations.
There was the worrying matter of a mini Irish revival, which brought them within three points of Scotland midway through the second half, but ultimately it petered out with the flurry of substitutions that threatened to ruin the game altogether.
Such was the manner that Scotland went about their business that Ireland could just not resist the dark blue waves of attack that swept over them time and again. The calming influence of Jason White was seen from the off, his first touch, a line-out take deep in the Irish half led to fellow flank Ally Hogg dotting down for a simple try to which Paterson added the extras in just the third minute.
White's game subsequently developed as he played his way back into rugby after an enforced six month break due to injury. His next telling contribution was a thunderous tackle to force a mistake from Paddy Wallace at a time when Ireland seemed to be gaining a sense of ascendancy over Scotland. The tackle not only jolted the Irish but spurred Scotland on further.
Aside from a Paddy Wallace penalty in the ninth minute it was Scotland, directed by Mike Blair and Paterson at half-back, who took complete control of the encounter on a wet afternoon. White was ably assisted by his forward pack as Scotland broke first tackles with regular ease and caused Ireland countless problems at the set piece.
Ireland were not without their moments of magic or class. The sight of Geordan Murphy flying through the air to claim a telling cross-field kick from Chris Paterson was a sign of his stability at full-back and a show of his commitment to the cause.
Likewise Paul O'Connell was a telling presence in the loose. However the fact he, a second row, outplayed Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip, the supposedly dynamic back row duo, in that aspect of the game will be a concern to O'Sullivan. Factors such as that will do little to ease the glaring concern to emerge from this game -- Ireland lack world class depth in their squad.
In contrast Scotland, while not perfect, displayed a marked improvement on their Six Nations form and will head forward from here with the positives they would have looked for. The build up play to their second try was nothing short of sensational as they went through seven phases and used forwards and backs to create space for Paterson who was hauled down short.
Nevertheless Scotland struck from the scrum, a cheeky delayed pass from Blair to the hard running Andy Henderson confused the Irish defence substantially enough for the centre to crash his way over. Paterson again added the extras and Scotland were in the ascendancy.
They were momentarily pinned back by a Geordan Murphy penalty but as the half eked away and Jason White continued demonstrating why he has been so sorely missed they crossed for a third and telling try. Paterson, a livewire at ten, released first Rory and then Sean Lamont before his forwards burrowed Euan Murray over for an unconverted score.
A second half in which Ireland had plenty to do started in the same vein as the first, with Scotland flexing their muscle and Ireland providing few answers to the physical test being laid down to them. The result was a second try for Henderson as Tommy Bowe sold himself on an intercept, missed and stood watching as Henderson flopped over the line for a score that seemed to settle the game.
Then came the worrying spell, the spell that will leave Frank Hadden with more than a few points to muse over. The most notable of these will be how his side fell asleep and allowed Ireland to score fifteen unanswered points in as many minutes. The fact Jason White had left the field for ten of those minutes may have been a contributing factor. The captain was taken off, a wise move seeing as Scotland may have lost Chris Cusiter to a late injury.
The impressive Isaac Boss got the ball rolling for Ireland when he brushed off a weak tackle from Sean Lamont around the fringe of a ruck to force his way over from close range. Paddy Wallace duly added the extras and the Irish found some renewed hope and with it a sense of structure to their otherwise messy game.
As Ireland found momentary shape to their game Scotland lost all of theirs amid a flurry of changes. It was one of Ireland's changes who scored the try to cause Scotland most concern. A loose line out throw, one of only two from Scotland, allowed Ferris and Heaslip to combine close to the line before Boss spun it wide. Quick hands found Murphy, who rode a high shot from Rory Lamont before offloading to Andrew Trimble who slid over.
Apart from a Wallace penalty to cut the deficit to just three points Ireland were done for the afternoon, and as soon as Scotland found some of their shape again, Ireland could not prevent Henderson from completing his hat-trick with another powerful run from close range. Dan Parks took on the disinterested Ronan O'Gara, who at least made half an attempt to stop him, before slipping a clever pass to Henderson who went in under the posts. Parks added the extra two and Scotland sealed an impressive win.
The fact it was an Ireland second choice side will be of little significance to the Scots who will head away with far more value than Ireland. The re-emergence of their pack as a formidable force will be a major plus. But more than that they looked like a side who had a game plan and the players to execute it.
Chris Paterson was a revelation at fly-half and Hadden will do well to utilise him there during the World Cup. The loss of Cusiter late on to a knee injury will be a dampener on the day but it will not detract to Scotland's impressive display.
Ireland failed to show anything that we didn't already know. O'Connell was the standout forward, closely followed by the industrious Neil Best. The rest of the pack failed to impress, which will be of concern to O'Sullivan at this stage. Their back line looked average, Boss and O'Driscoll the stars with Trimble coming on to support them.
There is much to be done from both sides before they depart for France but on this display Ireland are not so much dark horses as wild horses, whilst the brave hearts of Scotland grew in stature ready for the daunting task of stopping the All Blacks.
Man of the Match: With the Irish reclining from holding their hands up for this award we naturally opted for a Scot. Chris Paterson was a revelation at fly-half and Andy Henderson was superb at centre but it was their captain, sentimental I know, who was the catalyst for a new Scotland. Jason White's telling contributions came at critical moments and despite leaving the field after fifty five minutes he did enough to show why Scotland need him so much.
Moment of the Match: The first line out of the game went to Scotland and as they took the ball down they destroyed the Irish pack with a fierce drive and that set the tone for the remainder of the game. It was not a total domination of the Irish pack but for the most Scotland were in control.
Villain of the Match: Not a sniff of trouble.
The scorers:
For Scotland:
Tries: Hogg, Henderson 3, Murray
Cons: Paterson 2, Parks
For Ireland:
Try: Boss, Trimble
Con: Wallace
Pens: Wallace 2, Murphy
The teams:
Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Rob Dewey, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Chris Paterson, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Jason White (c), 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Craig Smith, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Dan Parks, 22 Nikki Walker.
Ireland: 15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Brian Carney, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gavin Duffy, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Paddy Wallace, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Stephen Ferris, 6 Neil Best, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 3 Simon Best, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Bryan Young.
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 John Hayes, 18 Alan Quinlan, 19 Keith Gleeson, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Shane Horgan.
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
Touch-judges: Wayne Barnes (England) and Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official: Rob Debney (England)
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