That’s yer lot from me for this game, and while the Championship winners have been decided there remains the small matter of France vs England to finish the tournament.
Join me for that if you can.
Here is the full match report
The Ireland players are filing past the dignitaries to collect their medals and congregating on the stage. Last up is Peter O’Mahony who grips the trophy one handed, joins his team and asks Tadhg Furlong to help him hoist it aloft amid ticker-tape and explosions.
Man of the Match, Jamison Gibson-Park
“Tough going and two good teams going at it. Our backs were against the wall a little bit, and I’m hugely proud of the boys.”
An emotional Peter O’Mahony is talking to the telly.
“I don’t know if this is my last game, I’ve a few chats to have first, but if it is my last it’s not a bad one to go out on. We knew we could do better and I thought today we showed loads of grit and some ambition in the damp. The middle 2o minutes from us I thought was huge. We spoke about getting stuck in and we put some lead in their legs and needed to get some reward for it.”
“This is a special group of people, the World Cup really bonded us. It’s a huge honour to captain your country and this was a great win”
The familiar refrain of “Zombie” rings around the stadium as the Irish players accept the congratulations of the opposition and each other.
They were favourites before it it began and they have looked most likely throughout, even if not playing their best.
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IRELAND ARE 2024 SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONS!
80 mins. Nothing doing with the last possession for the home side, but no matter as the ball is off the park, the game is over and Ireland have won the whole bloody thing!
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78 mins. Another chink of light is seen by Scotland as Rowe moves up, but the recycling of possession is again not precise enough and the ball goes forward.
Despite the dominance of Ireland this half, a bit more accuracy throughout from Scotland and this game could have been theirs.
TRY! Ireland 17 - 13 Scotland (Huw Jones)
77 mins. A gap opens up that is big enough for George Horne to fit through and race up into the 22. Two phase later the ball is out to Jones who steps off his left foot to diddle James Lowe and score.
Russell converts
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YELLOW CARD! Harry Byrne (Ireland)
75 mins. Russell has been clattered a high by Harry Byrne. It was head on head and the Irish sub was stood very upright, so he’s off for the rest of the match while the bunker has a look at whether it should be upgraded to red.
74 mins. The boys in blue are back to their full 15 players as they attempt to claw their way back into the game. A high tackle on Rowe brings a penalty on their own 22
72 mins. Scotland rage against the dying of the light as the gloaming settles over Dublin. The forwards hold up the latest Irish catch and drive to win possession close to the line and clear yet another green attack.
70 mins. Kyle Rowe is on for Scotland and his first noticeable contribution is to hammer a kick out on the full that was taken back into the 22. At the lineout, Cummins is pinged for playing Beirne in the air as the visitors wheeze towards the end of the match,
67 mins. The familiar second half issues strike again so far for Scotland; although to be fair this has been a result of a significant increase in intensity from Ireland rather than any self sabotage on the part of Townsend’s men.
Ireland are cantering to the Championship at this stage – if it was ever in doubt.
TRY! Ireland 17 - 6 Scotland (Andrew Porter)
65 mins. Ireland tap the penalty under the posts and a clever little pre-planned move has Kelleher popping a pass to Porter who forces over to finally breach this heroic Scotland defensive effort.
Crowley converts.
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YELLOW CARD! Ewan Ashman (Scotland)
64 mins. The game is opening up, firstly through a lost ball by Ireland that puts Kinghorn on the attack in the Irish half before more imprecision has Ringrose gathering a loose ball and sprinting 5o metres upfield.
The centre is caught, but the men in green spring into action and as Scotland give away about 4 penalties as they scramble to defend the phase, the ball finds Henshaw to drive over the line. But Redpath is underneath him and does an unbelievable job to hold the ball up!
But someone has to pay the price for all those penalties, and it’s the hooker Ashman.
61 mins. Another attack in the Scotland 5m area and Ireland again can’t make it pay. They home side are guilty of overworking the short carries before releasing to the backs, and when it finally gets there the pass is not good enough to Ringrose who fumbles it forward.
Steve Tandy (Scotland defence coach) looks absolutely pumped in the coach’s box; and well he might, his team are doing an incredible job.
58 mins. Ireland are back to winning a lineout in the Scottish 22 and the inevitable possession slams into the defence who again cannot avoind being offside. The visitors have made tons of tackles already and it looks and feels like the fatigue will tell sooner rather than later,
56 mins. A sigh of relief from Scotland as the scrum completes without incident and Ben White can hoist it to touch with his boot. There’s a further slice of positivity as Fagerson robs the Irish lineout, but they again mangle their own good work with some poor passing leading to a handling error and a player playing the ball offside from a ricochet.
54 mins. A snappy move off the lineout has Ireland up to the 5m line and hammering hard on the door. Nash is off his wing and stepping towards a score but Christie puts in a big hit to both stop him and prise the ball free. Knock-on!
Scotland will pray this scrum goes a lot better than the last one.
52 mins. The Scotland scrum is splintered into a thousand pieces by a huge Irish shove and as the dust settles the ball is moved left through hands before Nash puts a kick in to turn van der Merwe around. Scotland manage to secure the ball, but all White can do is find touch on the 22.
50 mins. Scotland have a first proper go with the ball this half and it’s via a great run from Kinghorn joining the line from fullback in the right hand 13 channel. They work it back to the left to sub Ashman who’s rattled by a strong Irish defensive blitz that dislodges the ball and allows Gibson-Park to clear.
Finlay Bealham has replaced Tadhg Furlong.
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48 mins. NO TRY! TMO Marius Jonker decides there was separation betwixt ball and arm. It was a very marginal call, it has to be said.
Ewan Ashman and Rory Sutherland are on for George Turner and Pierre Schoeman
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47 mins. The noticeable raising of the power and tempo continues from Ireland as the phases start in the 22 from the lineout. Scotland are doing a good job of covering, but they are going backwards far more than in the first half as the force comes down hard from the green forwards.
Furlong drives forward from two metres and extends an arm to ground the ball on the line under pressure from Fagerson. There’s an element of a bounce to it, so the TMO is taking a long look at it.
44 mins. In a hideous development for Scotland, Finn Russell puts the ball out on the full from the kick off to bring more pressure back on. This leads to more phases from Ireland, another Scotland penalty given away and a green lineout in the Scottish 22.
PENALTY! Ireland 10 - 6 Scotland
42 mins. A poor kick from White allows Larmour a chance to have run and he sets up a decent position in the middle of Scotland half. From this, the ball is moved left to Lowe who has a rumble up the touchline before offloading to Aki who is stopped on the 22 for his forwards take over with some carries. The pressure is relentless and it forces and infringement from the defence.
Crowley steps up to draw a line under a good start to the half for Ireland.
SECOND HALF!
Jack Crowley takes his turn to start a half to get the second intallment underway
Finely poised, this.
Scotland have been the better side probably, but on form this year Andy Farrell’s half-time talk may say something like “just wait until they fall apart again”. Townsend’s will be, “lads, for the love of God, please play 8o minutes will you?”
“Strong rumours coming from Ireland that this is POM’s last game for his country.” says Olive. “Would explain the tears during the anthem. Announcement to be made at the end of the match apparently”
HALF TIME! Ireland 7 - 6 Scotland
40+3 mins. The attack looks to be going nowhere as Scotland’s defensive organisation continues to frustrate the home side, and eventually the ball spills and is put out to end the half.
40+1 mins. The ball goes loose, which allows Kinghorn to boot and chase his own kick. Nash covers across in his 22 and Kinghorn is high with his tackle as he follows up. It’s a penalty only as the Ireland winger dropped in height, but the half will continue via an Irish lineout on halfway.
40 mins. Lowe drifts off his wing to take the ball on first phase on an arcing run. SCotland’s defence is up to the task and Ireland set up for some phases around halfway as the clock heads into the red.
38 mins. The rain is falling steadily now and this causes Ben White to have a fumble of his own at the base of the ruck to halt Scottish progress.
36 mins. More disruptive counter-rucking from the visitors makes a mess of Gibson-Park’s ability to cleanly move the ball from the base and he spills it forward. Scotland scrum on halfway incoming.
MISSED PENALTY! Ireland 7 - 6 Scotland (Jack Crowley)
33 mins. Whisper it if you’ve seen this before, but Scotland look broadly the better team here, but can’t seem to do enough to either get through Ireland or too often get out of their own way. The latest example is daft and unforced crossing penalty and Christie gets the timing of his run all wrong.
It’s a long way out, but O’Mahony recognises this is a tight old game and asks Crowley to kick it. He fails.
31 mins. Furlong gets a big shove on Schoeman at the scrum and the Scottish prop can do nothing but pop up and give away a penalty. From the lineout Ireland are on the ball around the Scot 22 but a disrupting tackle from Christie and Dempsey dislodges the ball from Van Der Flier. Excellent defence.
28 mins. McDowall introduces himself to the game by romping through a gap on first phase from the scrum with subtle step and go. He’s caught eventually by a combo of Crowley and Larmour. The position looks promising in the Ireland half, but it fizzles out a bit so White angles a kick to touch.
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25 mins. The last few minutes has seen Scotland have some joy counter-rucking, with Andy Christie prominent in the effort. That latest drive sends Ireland off the ball enough for them to fumble it forward to give the visitors a scrum just in their own half.
22 mins. Some Scottish possession looks busy but it is ultimately not productive so van der Merwe takes it on himself to have a run. Not a bad idea in itself, but he runs laterally, largely away from his support and when he’s scragged Van Der Flier clamps on the ball.
That’s two turnover penalties against the big winger for much the same thing. Have Ireland worked him out?
20 mins. A 10% increase in the pace of the movement of the ball by Ireland is enough to for them to manoeuvre the ball via a lovely Nash offload to Aki who has a twenty metre carry on the left. Scotland scramble well and as the ball the is worked back inside possession is fumbled by Ireland.
PENALTY! Ireland 7 - 6 Scotland (Finn Russell)
17 mins. Scotland don’t let that shambles of a try deter them and they are back on the Irish 22 on a penalty advantage after Beirne drifts offside. The phases move left, but there’s very little doing so the ref calls them back.
It’s bang in front and Russell doesn’t waste the chance for more points.
TRY! Ireland 7 - 3 Scotland (Dan Sheehan)
13 mins. This time Scotland catch and drive the lineout before releasing the ball to be cleared, but the kick doesn’t go as far and Henshaw capitalises with a big carry that catches van der Merwe offside in defence.
Crowley puts it in the corner and Scotland do a great job of driving the Irish forwards intro touch; but they do a far worse job with their own lineout, George Turner flinging the ball over Cummins and directly to Sheehan who strolls over from five metres!
Oh dear…
Conversion is added.
Updated
10 mins. A potentially tricky defensive lineout for Scotland is completed with under 2% nonsense present; quickly off the top for Russell to punt clear. Ireland have a few bumps up on the counter before Lowe boots the ball roughly back to where Scotland started.
PENALTY! Ireland 0 - 3 Scotland (Finn Russell)
7 mins. James Lowe claims a high ball before being penalised for crawling on the floor after the tackle was completed on him.
Russell calls for the tee and slots the first points of the match.
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6 mins. The position gained from the charge-down is lost due to some imprecise work in contact allowing McCarthy to rip the ball away. The ball is cleared for a Scotland lineout on halfway.
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4 mins. An organised start from both sides, each taking a couple of carries up before dispatching the ball with the boot of their scrum-halves. Rinse, repeat.
There’s a slight variation when Ireland spin to Lowe and his kick is charged down by Christie rampaging out of the line with a block.
2 mins. Gibson-Park box kicks the ball away, but can only find Russell rather than touch. The Scots captain wastes no time in moving the ball to van der Merwe who has a run before Sheehan is over the ball strongly to win a penalty to Ireland.
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KICK OFF!
Finn Russell kicks the ball deep into Ireland territory to start us off
Peter O’Mahony is very tearful during “Ireland’s Call”. Could a retirement announcement be coming?
Tadhg Beirne is first out of the tunnel to take an ovation on the occasion of his 50th cap for Ireland. Soon after the two teams emerge into a mizzling early evening in Dublin, with more rain predicted as the the game progresses.
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Late team change for Ireland
Hugo Keenan has a late injury and is replaced at fullback by Jordan Larmour.
That could be significant as Keenan is often the glue that holds all the best Irish performances together. Larmour is nippy, but he’s a long way short of the class of his Leinster team mate.
There’s much chatter this week about the possibility that Ireland could win the tournament via bonus points with less wins than England. Read more about it here.
There are potentially a number of permutations here depending on the result. How do you see it going? Let me know to with an email or a post @bloodandmud
Teams
Andy Farrell can name an unchanged starting XV after Calvin Nash recovered sufficiently from his head injury departure last week v England. However, he the coach is not keen to repeat the issues presented by only having two back among the subs last week, and so the 5-3 split returns along with Harry Byrne and Garry Ringrose.
Scotland boss Townsend brings Stafford McDowall in to inside-centre, while Ben White returns at scrum-half.
IRELAND Hugo Keenan; Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Harry Byrne, Garry Ringrose
SCOTLAND Blair Kinghorn; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Stafford McDowall, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings, Andy Christie, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey.
Replacements:Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherland, Elliot Millar-Mills, Sam Skinner, Matt Fagerson, George Horne, Cameron Redpath, Kyle Rowe.
Preamble
It wasn’t meant to be this way for Ireland. This second installment of Super Saturday 2024 was due to be the final waypoint to a Grand Slam delivered on the weekend of their national patron saint’s day. Instead, they have the disappointment of needing just a bonus point to win the Championship; which is quite the clanging sentence isn’t it?
Similar to the barnstorming England teams of 2000 and 2001, “just” winning the Championship does feel like below par for Andy Farrell's men given they were so clearly the best side in Europe coming in. They will desperately want to demonstrably reassert that status today in front of the home crowd.
While the mood music since the World Cup has not been as bright for Scotland, this is not how they saw the tournament panning out either. They can technically still win the thing with a victory and a favourable result in Paris later, but Gregor Townsend and his team will know that they should be playing for a Slam as well. Winning positions left to float away against Italy and France must shroud this squad like a stinking miasma of regret. The challenge will be dispersing enough of it to sniff out a win in Dublin.
I’m sure they’ll both be up for it when the whistle blows, mind you.
