Match report
Thanks for your company here, you can now step over and join me again for the big finale in Paris.
Player of the Match, Dan Sheehan, is chatting on the telly.
“The Triple Crown is great for us and it’s good to have it back. We’ve got plenty more in us, but it’s great to get where we’ve got and the crowd has given us a huge rise for every game.”
Ireland have done exactly what was required to put maximum pressure on France, while Scotland end the tournament with a dissonant whimper. There’ll be much reckoning to come for Gregor Townsend, I fancy.
Updated
Full time! Ireland 26-5 Scotland
IRELAND WIN WITH A BONUS POINT!
Over to you, Les Bleus.
Updated
TRY! Ireland 26 - 5 Scotland (Conor Murray)
80 mins. Ireland drive from the lineout and release James Lowe. He’s held up short, but he offloads to replacement Conor Murray who uses his strength to drive over through Graham and Nel.
Sexton can’t put the icing on the cake from the tee.
Updated
YELLOW CARD! Ben White (Scotland)
78 mins. Ben White has a rather obvious deliberate knock on and is marched from the field.
76 mins. The game has become flabby with the weight of its meh-ness at this stage. Ireland have lost shape and dynamism with the sheer number of replacements, while Scotland are forcing. The result is not much play happening, but Ireland have another chance as they threaten the Scottish 22 again.
73 mins. The ball is won solidly and Scotland are inching forward with carries before Nel is penalised for pre-latching and then sealing off. He compounds this by then backchatting and losing a further ten metres.
Joey Carbery is on for Hugo Keenan as Ireland continue to pursue the bonus point.
71 mins. Russell runs to the line and feeds a late pop to Bennett who is away before Keenan tackles him. The breakdown is a mess, however, and Scotland will attack from a lineout from the resulting penalty.
68 mins. Some territorial kicking breaks out and Finn Russell’s first contribution is to boom the ball down the middle and into the Irish in-goal. Sexton drops it out from under the posts and Scotland are back on the attack before more imprecision sees the ball go to ground between Kinghorn and Russell.
Finlay Bealham replaces Tadhg Furlong
66 mins. Scotland go wide from the lineout, with Kinghorn seeing an overlap. He throws a long one towards Mark Bennett but Mack Hansen makes a brilliant defensive decision by rushing out and shutting down Bennett, ball and all.
Great defensive read.
Finn Russell is on for Chris Harris. That will see Kinghorn move to inside centre and Bennett to 13.
64 mins. In search of the bonus point fourth try Ireland are working phases on halfway, but they can’t prevent Alan Dell winning a holding on penalty. Hogg finds a huge touch, deep in Ireland territory.
62 mins. Scotland are starting to fling the ball about now, feeling a sense of desperation seeping in. Hamish Watson has a dart out wide but his offload goes to ground.
Iain Henderson is replaced by Kieran Treadwell
Matt Fagerson is off for Josh Bayliss
Dan Sheehan gives way for Rob Herring.
Scotland subs
Ali Price is replaced by Ben White
Sam Johnson leaves for Mark Bennett.
TRY! Ireland 21 - 5 Scotland (Josh Van Der Flier)
60 mins. Ireland are in the 22 and driving repeatedly through the forwards. Scotland rack up three penalties for offside, all of which are having advantage played before Van Der Flier comes on a good angle to take the ball short off Gibson-Park and score despite the attention of Scottish tacklers.
Sexton converts.
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58 mins. It’s another frustrating passage of play for Ireland as Scotland get amongst their possession and manage to clear. But here come Ireland again, running it back into the Scottish 22.
55 mins. Ireland have a big shove in the scrum on the Scotland 22 and win a penalty as the visiting pack crumbles. It’s sent to the corner but Fagerson nicks the lineout at the tail before Beirne then charges down a clearing kick. It’s all a bit breathless and Matt Fagerson decides this nonsense must stop and choke tackles Sexton to win a scrum.
But, the rest of his pack seem to like the nonsense and can’t hold themselves up under pressure again. Another Ireland penalty coming and it’s sent to the corner once more.
Bundee Aki is replaced by Robbie Henshaw.
Updated
52 mins. Ireland subs. Dave Kilcoyne for Cian Healy and Peter O’Mahony for Jack Conan
51 mins. Meanwhile back in play, Ireland try to feed Lowe while up flat to the tackle line, but there’s no space and he’s rushed into fumbling by the Scotland defence. There’s a sniff of a counter attack but nothing comes of it.
Sam Skinner is on for Grant Gilchrist
Fraser Brown replaces George Turner
The clock is off as the ref and TMO have a look as a possible leading elbow in the carry by Schoeman. They have a good old look and decide it was a “brace and push” type of movement rather than a run and forearm smash job. Hmm, not sure I agree with that.
Stuart Hogg will be happy though as it distracted for a while from his absolutely honking cock-up.
48 mins. Tadhg Beirne is pinged for messing with Johnny Gray in the lineout and Hogg can find a good touch in the Ireland half.
Kinghorn is calling the shots in midfield and sprays a pass wide to Steyn on the left side. Scotland are up to 9 phases Hogg ignores a three on one out right to go for the corner himself and fails to make it as he’s bundled into touch.
It was a decent covering tackle, but that is an unforgivably poor decision by the Captain to ignore his support.
43 mins. Two early penalties for the Ireland, the second of which is tapped quickly by Gibson-Park and he’s away into the Scotland 22. The ball is kept alive by a remarkable one-handed fling behind his head by Hansen on the right touchline and the Irish settle in for some carries.
Gibson-Park then tickles a kick into the in-goal, but Graham is first to it.
Updated
SECOND HALF!
40 mins. Hogg lumps one up in the air and we’re back in the game.
Half time musings
A frenetic start gave way to something more predictable as Ireland had the most of the middle third of the half before Scotland evened things up late on. However, while the territory and possession stats are fairly evenly matched, there is something your eyes tells you that the data won’t: Ireland just look that little bit stronger - as the score line is showing.
However, the home scrum looked to be creaking again in the final set-piece before the half, and Scotland are making metres especially when they bring Graham into play. Kinghorn also looks to be shepherding them well in possession.
The half-time reset probably came at the right time for Ireland, expect them to use it well.
HALF TIME! Ireland 14 - 5 Scotland
40 mins. Scotland have a penalty from a huge push in the 5m scrum that forces and Ireland fold. The ball is put off the field to end the opening forty.
Updated
38 mins. Just as Scotland get a toe-hold, Tadhg Furlong pulls it away by clamping on Johnny Gray after the restart to win a penalty for Scotland holding on. But the men in blue fight hard on the next defensive set and Grant Gilchrist wins it back.
TRY! Ireland 14 - 5 Scotland (Pierre Schoeman)
36 mins. A turnover for Scotland is fed right to Graham and he is around van Der Flier and into the Irish 22. Kinghorn is calling for heavy carries from the forwards and it’s taken them up to within metres of the line before Schoeman does a little dummies then muscles over from a few metres. There’s a hint of double movement but not more as far as Ref Wayne Barnes is concerned.
The try is given and Kinghorn horribly slices the conversion wide.
Updated
31 mins. Scotland have the ball, and Sam Johnson cuts a nice out-to-in line to carry over halfway but Ireland regroup and force slow ball, leaving Ali Price with little choice but to box kick to nothing.
TRY! Ireland 14 - 0 Scotland (Cian Healy)
28 mins. Dan Sheehan, who has been so good in the loose all tournament, has another crunching and rapid carry off the back of a ruck and up to the Scotland line. A couple of phases later Cian Healy forces over from inches.
Sexton has an easy conversion
Updated
26 mins. Henderson claims a flying lineout catch one-handed in the Scotland half. The ball goes right and a chip over the top is chased by Hansen, but Rory Darge is alive to it and has peeled off the lineout to cover in backfield on his own line. But Ireland have it back and are still on the attack.
23 mins. Scotland win a clean lineout on the Ireland 22, but as they attempt one of their patented fancy first phase moves the timing is a little off and Ali Price knocks on.
That’s frustrating for Townsend’s men, as it was an opportunity to put some control into their part of the game for the first time in a while.
21 mins. Not a great couple of minutes for D’Arcy Graham. First, he clatters into James Lowe when chasing a kick to give away a penalty, then he nearly fumbles a simple catch from a kick in his 22 and slices his own touchfinder horribly in the subsequent panic.
TRY! Ireland 7 - 0 Scotland (Dan Sheehan)
18 mins. It’s a simple catch and drive that Sheehan grounds after he peels off the back of the maul. Easy as you like and Sexton adds the two.
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16 mins. The last few minutes has seen Ireland start to show their dominance and this continues as they almost get Lowe away again on the left in the Scotland half. The visiting defence infringe and do so again by not being ten metres when the first penalty is tapped. Ireland can do nothing with the advantage and so send it to the corner for a 5m lineout.
14 mins. Scotland leave anenormous gap on the left of their 22 and it’s all the invitation Sexton needs to drive the ball into touch for a 50:22.
The catch and drive by Ireland from the lineout is over the line, but the sheer number of bodies won’t allow it to be grounded. Scotland will drop-out from under the posts.
12 min. The Scottish lineout comes to nought as Turner overthrows Johnny Gray, the ball kissing the tips of his fingers on its way to being turned over to Ireland. Some kicking back and forth ensues before Jamison Gibson Park snipes around the ruck on halfway and chips over Hogg, but loses the foot race with the Scotland fullback who gathers it and gets enough room to boot it clear.
9 mins. What could be described as normal phased rugby breaks out around the halfway line with both teams having a minute or so of possession. Scotland, the latest to have the ball, cause the Ireland defence to drift offside and Hogg sends the kick up to the Irish 22 for a lineout.
6 mins. OK, so it seems everyone has decided this game is going to be silly, this time it’s prop Pierre Schoeman picking and going into open ground from the base of a ruck. He sprints 30 metres into the Ireland 22, but the recycled possession is passed forward by Harris.
Updated
4 mins. It’s Ireland’s turn to have a go from their near their own line with Ringrose finding Lowe on the left touchline for the winger to boom the ball forward and deep into Scottish territory. Hogg covers.
2 mins. D’Arcy Graham takes the ball deep in his own 22 and goes for it, gassing past Bundee Aki and through the line before he’s stopped by Hugo Keenan up from full back. The ball is scrappy and Ireland almost mount a counter attack of their own but nothing comes of it.
KICK OFF!
1 min. Johnny Sexton gets us underway with a long, high drop. Matt Fagerson carries a short return before Ali Price clears via a box kick.
The teams are on their way out.
Scotland, led by a thin-lipped and serious looking Stuart Hogg, are followed by Johnny Sexton and his men in green. Anthems next, then it’ll be kick-off time.
ITALY HAVE JUST BEATEN WALES IN CARDIFF!
Read all about it with my colleague Niall McVeigh..
Pre match reading
Michael Aylwin casts his eye over today’s match.
“Scotland will be fairly tearing themselves apart over the review of yet another championship of disappointment, but it is true they have not had to wait till the last round for that. Even Ireland, though, might harbour a few regrets. They have it all to play for when Scotland visit Dublin, but languish for now in that purgatory of a fate surrendered to others.”
Read more here.
Have you ever broken the rules in work and come a cropper like Finn Russell? Let me know about such things and any thoughts on the match by email or on Twitter
Teams
Andy Farrell changes three from the team that laboured a little at Twickenham. Mack Hansen returns to the wing in place of the unlucky Andrew Conway, Iain Henderson replaces the concussed James Ryan, and Jack Conan is back in the No 8 berth.
For Scotland, the aforementioned late night boozy-do appears to have consigned Finn Russell to the bench. Rumours are he also left camp the day after, hence he’s the only one of the Tennent’s Six to be dropped. Blair Kinghorn is in to start at 10 after one full game against Tonga and some short minutes off the bench. Gregor Townsend has put a lot of store in the Edinburgh man as an international stand-off and today we’ll find out if he’s right.
In the pack, Johnny Gray replaces Sam Skinner.
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Johnny Sexton (captain), Jamison Gibson Park; Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, Iain Henderson, Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Dave Kilcoyne, Finlay Bealham, Kieran Treadwell, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Joey Carbery, Robbie Henshaw.
Scotland: Stuart Hogg (captain); Darcy Graham, Chris Harris, Sam Johnson, Kyle Steyn; Blair Kinghorn, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist, Rory Darge, Hamish Watson, Matt Fagerson.
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Allan Dell, WP Nel, Sam Skinner, Josh Bayliss, Ben White, Finn Russell, Mark Bennett.
Preamble
Welcome to Dublin for the last bout on the undercard of this Six Nations Super Saturday.
The Championship is still within reach for Ireland and Andy Farrell’s men will be focusing on putting themselves top of the table with one match to play. This will serve two purposes; one, it will cement their status as one of the best teams in the World and two, it will force France to deal with the huge pressure of expectation. For all their talent, the kinda green Les Bleus have not felt the hand of history trembling on their shoulder yet. Ireland will want to make sure they are shaking to the point of nausea come kick off later.
If Ireland win this with a not improbable try bonus point, this would put them three up on France in the table; meaning only a home win in Paris can realistically see Ireland lose the Championship. (There are some possible draw-plus-try-bonus-point shenanigans that may bring it down to points difference, but let’s try and deal with absolutes until we have no choice not to, shall we?)
But what of Scotland? It’s been a pretty depressing tournament all told, with this week’s latest unwelcome disquiet in the form of players - including Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell - breaking team protocol to get late-night bevvied. Gregor Townsend will not want that scenario to be the lasting memory of a mediocre tournament and a win here would allow this, unlike his players, to be put firmly to bed.
