Ireland heaped further misery on Scotland as they ran out 34-13 victors in Saturday's Six Nations clash at Croke Park.
Despite scoring their first try in almost three hundred minutes of rugby, Scotland had no answer to an Ireland side threatening, in patches, to return to the form of old. Simon Webster's try, which gave Scotland faint hope with twenty-five minutes to play, proved little more than scant consolation.
Ireland ran in five tries and in doing so played some devastating rugby to bring Croke Park to life for the first time since they put England to the sword almost a year ago. It has been a barren spell in Irish rugby -- a dismal World Cup still lingers in the memory after two less than convincing performances in this year's Six Nations.
The sound of the old faithful giving a passionate rendition of "Fields of Athenry" will have been music to Eddie O'Sullivan's ears. For so long he has had to endure a barrage of criticism but as Ireland slowly but surely unearthed a welcome return to form he will have afforded himself a sly smile.
Granted there is still work to be done, most notably at the line-out, but at times Ireland looked like the side who effortlessly accounted for South Africa and Australia in consecutive weeks in 2006. For so long the line-out has been a formidable weapon in the Irish armoury, yet as it stands now it is a mere shadow of its former self.
Bernard Jackman, preferred to Rory Best for his throwing-in, had a woeful game -- coughing up two line-outs in the opening five minutes as Scotland asserted early pressure. Mick O'Driscoll, whilst adding a hardened edge in the tight, leaves a lot to the imagination at the line-out, and up against Scott MacLeod he was exposed in ruthless fashion.
Despite a glut of early possession and territory Scotland could not make their pressure tell, even spurning an eminently kickable three points in a bid to crack the Irish defence. Any perceived weaknesses of Ireland's defensive abilities were ill-founded, as try as they may Scotland could not find a way through.
If Scotland needed a lesson in efficiency then Ireland were only to glad to offer it up, scoring with their first meaningful attack of the game. It came from their first foray into Scotland's twenty-two and exposed Scotland's scrum defence with alarming ease. Jamie Heaslip picked from the base and arced wide with Eoin Reddan on his outside, Kelly Brown brought the dummy and David Wallace was afforded the easiest of tries on the inside shoulder.
Scotland hit back through the only means they know how, Chris Paterson's formidable boot. A simple penalty effort finally rewarded them for all their territory and possession, but it was of scant consolation as again Ireland struck with devastating accuracy following a poor box kick from Mike Blair.
The outstanding Geordan Murphy rose high to take the kick and from there Scotland had no answer. Ronan O'Gara saw the space in front of him and surged forward and found Brian O'Driscoll as the defence engulfed him. Having promised a return to form in the week O'Driscoll scorched forward attracting defenders like bees to honey before floating a sumptuous pass out to Rob Kearney who finished off a fine counter-attack.
Paterson continued his impressive run with the boot, adding his second penalty on the half hour, but Scotland were left to rue ill discipline as an attempted Nathan Hines punch cost them prime field position in the dying moments of the half. Ireland, despite defending for much of the half had the lead at the break, 14-6.
If defence was the order of the day before the break it was clear Ireland were ready to cut the shackles after the break. It took them less than fifty seconds to get their third try, a delightful cross-field kick from O'Gara finding the galloping Marcus Horan who crashed over with a huge smile on his face. Ireland's confidence was on the rise, as were the noise levels around the stadium.
They went up another decibel as Paul O'Connell was introduced into the fray, his very presence bringing a new found calm to the set-piece. It could do little to prevent Webster scoring though as Ireland had a momentary lapse in concentration, a powerful series of drives creating the space down the blind side for Andrew Henderson to free Webster.
There were those who thought it was the start of a fightback but any such notion was quickly eradicated as the hosts finished the game in style. With twenty minutes to play Tommy Bowe scored to settle matters, but it was the build-up to his try that caught the eye. Murphy started it, pouncing on a Paterson knock-on, before finding O'Gara who produced a wander pass under all kinds of pressure. Trimble took the attack into the twenty-two before finding Bowe who showed great strength to finish the move.
With the game in its dying throes Bowe added his second to give the score a more honest reflection and again it came from turnover ball. Scotland were trying to force matters from deep but only ended up in gifting the ball to Ireland who wasted no time in scoring.
How refreshing to see Ireland showing adventure and panache and one can't help but feel it owes a lot to the fresh faces in their ranks. Faces of players with no World Cup ghosts, no wrongs to right but instead reputations to build and with seemingly no fear of the unknown. Eddie O'Sullivan, whilst his stoic face may suggest otherwise, must be delighted.
Frank Hadden on the other hand is anything but delighted, rather he is facing the prospect of a second straight Wooden Spoon, which will ultimately cost him his job. Even if he can turn things around -- God knows how he intends to do so -- the Scottish Rugby Union will surely be looking for a new leader. And with Andy Robinson in Edinburgh they may not have to look too far.
Man of the Match: Scotland had a select few who stood out, most notable was Alasdair Strokosch who carried with unrelenting enthusiasm, as did Nathan Hines. But for us it was Geordan Murphy who stole the show, the rock at the back that Ireland built their win from. As safe as ever under the high ball and devastating in attack he will have given O'Sullivan a selection headache at full-back with Girvan Dempsey on his way back to fitness.
Moment of the Match: It has to be Tommy Bowe's first try. For a long time now Ireland have struggled to find rhythm in their rugby, yet in one sweeping move it all came flowing back, from decisive running to deft hands, this move had it all.
Villain of the Match: On the whole it was a good honest game, but this one goes to Nathan Hines for his attempted punch on John Hayes. Had he connected he could have been a lot more serious than the penalty it cost Scotland.
The Scorers:
For Ireland:
Tries: D.Wallace, Kearney, Horan, Bowe 2
Cons: O'Gara 3
Pen: O'Gara
For Scotland:
Try: Webster
Con: Paterson
Pens: Paterson 2
Ireland: 15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Andrew Trimble, 11 Robert Kearney, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Bernard Jackman, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Paul O'Connell, 19 Simon Easterby, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Shane Horgan.
Scotland: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Simon Webster, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Rory Lamont, 10 Chris Paterson, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Kelly Brown, 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Jim Hamilton, 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Dan Parks, 22 Nick De Luca.
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Touch judges: Joël Jutge (France), Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Television match official: Romain Poite (France)
Assessor: Steve Hilditch (Ireland)
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