Gerry Thornley: Ireland finish Championship on a high

Ireland 35 Scotland 25

A wild and whacky finale saw Ireland chalk back-to-back home wins and, pending the outcome in Paris, salvage their Six Nations campaign. This four tries to three win was something of a rollercoaster ride which ebbed and flowed, and kept the crowd entertained on a chilly evening in Dublin.

Hence Ireland also finished off their campaign with 13 tries in two games, albeit they conceded five. Their attacking game has yielded a return that proved elusive in the first three rounds, to give them some succour for the three-Test tour to South Africa, although Andy Farrell has plenty to work on too.

The Scots, themselves full of attacking verve, almost gave as good as they got in a game played with ambition and a high skills set, as both sides looked to change their lines of running, attack space and offload when possible in an encounter full of variety. There was plenty of kicking too, but rarely to put the ball out of play, in what was also an energy-sapping game. The difference was that, for the most part, Ireland’s execution was better.

Their discipline and lineout maul were superior too, the latter proving the launching pad for three tries, two of them converted, during two spells while the Scots had players in the bin.

CJ Stander’s carrying was immense, and essential to Ireland getting over the gainline, while the often unappreciated Jamie Heaslip went through his usual high workload. For once Heaslip was getting his mits on the ball plenty of times, in the outside channels as well as often taking on the toughest of one-off carries from behind the gainline. He was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.

Devin Toner was a serial ball-winner in the air, the scrum was good and Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton varied their game nicely, while Jared Payne had some classy touches and strong defensive reads. The clearing out was trademark Joe Schmidt, whether it the workhorses up front or the dervish-like Keith Earls out wide, while Simon Zebo showed some lovely footwork to augment one kick.

The ball saw more air in the opening 10 minutes than many a match in Croke Park, but Ireland’s superior kicking game and initial superiority in the air enabled them to dominate that period.

Referee Pascal Gauzere was particularly harsh on players not releasing after the tackle, and with the Scots serial offenders, Sexton punished John Barclay and John Hardie – the second after a particularly bruisingly direct carry from Stander – albeit he missed one in between.

Finally, after 13 minutes, Tim Visser beat Andrew Trimble in the air to a slightly miscued Sexton crossfield up-and-under, and the Scots went through a few phases. Monsieur Gauzere was equally quick to penalise Mike Ross for not rolling away after the tackle and Greig Laidlaw opened Scotland’s account. It looked harsh on Ross, the French referee reckoning he was trying to play the ball, but at least he was being consistent and such officiating ought to make for an open game.

After Sexton made it 9-3, Murray overcooked his box kick from the restart straight to Stuart Hogg – of all people. He had time to eye up a mismatch in midfield to accelerate between Ross and Rory Best and score untouched from 55 metres; Laidlaw tapping over the conversion. The Irish captain probably should have been tighter to his tighthead, but it was far from the only time that two of the Irish frontrow were in uneasy tandem in the middle of the green defensive line.

A brief rendition of Flower of Scotland echoed around the ground but the Ireland team and crowd alike were suitably roused. When Ryan Wilson was penalised for going off his feet, Sexton turned down three points to kick to the corner.

A sequence of breakdown offences and lineout drives also saw Barclay binned after a previous warning from Gauzere. Ireland’s maul having got them closer, they became incredibly narrow as they inched closer and closer to the line before Stander took the aerial route over a pile-up of bodies, American football-style, for the TMO to eventually and belatedly confirm a fairly clear-cut touchdown.

It was Stander’s 12th carry, eight over the gainline, for 28 metres in the first 27 minutes. Comparatively uglier, but they all count for five points, and Sexton added the extras to push Ireland 16-10. Most importantly, it was full reward for the decisions to continually go to the corner and the ideal response to Hogg’s try.

Better followed when Weir put his reverse restart out on the full – an unforgiveable mistake – and Ireland were again rewarded for heads-up adventure. Their concerted scrum earned a penalty which Murray tapped on halfway rather than entertain a shot at goal. A few phases later, Sexton appeared to have run out of options when he opted for a left-footed kick into space behind Tommy Seymour. Hogg came charging onto the ball but collided with Seymour, the ball breaking off the winger for Earls to latch onto the ball and run-in a relatively soft try.

Sexton’s kick was on the proverbial sixpence. Alas, his conversion drifted to the left and on half-time, while Ireland’s willingness to go through the phases in their own territory, Scotland’s scavenging earned them a penalty against Best for not releasing. That made the first-half penalty count 8-3, but it also enabled Laidlaw to land his third penalty.

Ireland led 21-13 at half-time, but Scotland’s points had come more cheaply (especially their try) and, partially because Sexton left five points behind, the score hardly reflected Ireland’s tally of 85 per cent possession and territory.

Undeterred, they renewed the offensive soon after the resumption. The key again was off-the-script rugby, as Zebo feinted to counter kick but instead countered. A couple of phases later, Sexton made a good read with a delayed pass to the ever available Heaslip. The number eight carried into contact and offloaded to the supporting Tommy O’Donnell and from quick ball Ireland went wide where Payne lobbed a deft pass to Henshaw.

He passed inside to Trimble, whose pass inside was picked off by Laidlaw but at the expense of a close-in lineout. From the second of two fine takes by Toner, the maul was driven back before another strong carry by Stander and then Heaslip led to Murray plunging for the line and his third try of the tournament.

Sexton landed a fine touchline conversion from the right, but the 15-point lead was trimmed back to 28-20 when Alex Dunbar put the Scots on the front foot, as he does, and after Scotland stretched Ireland by going wide and then sucked in the numbers with close-in drives, Ireland ran out of numbers as Richie Gray sauntered in under the posts from Weir’s pass as Best shot up.

Scotland upped the ante and upped the tempo further, Laidlaw tapping penalties from anywhere - even under his own posts - as the Scots utilised their bench to offset any signs of their six-day turnaround.

However they were undermined by Dunbar thuggishly clearing out Sexton with a judo-style flip to the ground. Gauzere issued a yellow card, Ireland went to the corner once more, Toner gathered again and although the maul was stopped, Murray carried hard and from the recycle there was Heaslip yet again for the carry and offload to Toner, who took Peter Horne’s to dive over the line for his first Test try. Sexton’s conversion made it 35-20.

But the game that never stopped flowing also never stopped ebbing, and Henshaw was fortunate not to be yellow carded for tugging back Hogg in a race to a kick which Zebo probably had covered. The Scottish pack hammered away at the Irish line a couple of times either side of another bust-up, before Sexton was binned for side entry and the torrent of penalties and pressure ended with Horne’s flicked pass beating the blitz for Dunbar to score.

But Laidlaw missed the conversion, and from Zebo’s restart, Josh Strauss knocked on to ensure Ireland finished on the attack. Breathless stuff and richly exciting to the end.

SCORING SEQUENCE – 6 mins Sexton pen 3-0; 13 mins Sexton pen 6-0; 13 mins Laidlaw pen 6-3; 18 mins Sexton pen 9-3; 20 mins Hogg try, Laidlaw con 9-10; 28 mins Stander try, Sexton con 16-9; 31 mins Earls try 21-10; 40 mins Laidlaw pen 21-13; (half-time 21-13); 48 mins Murray try, Sexton con 28-13; 56 mins Gray try, Laidlaw con 28-20; 69 mins Toner try, Sexton con 35-20; 78 mins Dunbar try 35-25.

IRELAND: Simon Zebo (Munster); Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Jared Payne (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Connacht), Keith Earls (Munster); Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster): Jack McGrath (Leinster), Rory Best (Ulster, capt), Mike Ross (Leinster); Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Devin Toner (Leinster); CJ Stander (Munster), Tommy O'Donnell (Munster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster).

Replacements: Nathan White (Connacht) for Ross (63 mins), Richardt Strauss (Leinster) for Best, Cian Healy (Leinster) for McGrath (both 68 mins), Ultan Dillane (Connacht) for Ryan, Rhys Ruddock (Leinster) for O'Doknnell (both 69 mins), Eoin Reddan (Leinster) for Murray, Fergus McFadden (Leinster) for Trimble (both 79 mins). Not used: Ian Madigan (Leinster).

SCOTLAND: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); Tommy Seymour (Glasgow), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow), Tim Visser (Harlequins); Duncan Weir (Glasgow), Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester, capt); Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Willem Nel (Edinburgh); Richie Gray (Castres Olympique), Tim Swinson (Glasgow); John Barclay (Scarlets), John Hardie (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow ).

Replacements: Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) for Ford (50 mins), Josh Strauss (Glasgow) for Wilson (53 mins), Rob Harley (Glasgow) for Swinson, Pete Horne (Glasgow) for Weir (both 63 mins), Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) for Dickinson (67 mins), Moray Low (Exeter Chiefs) for Nel (68 mins), Sean Lamont (Glasgow) for Visser (69 mins). Not used: Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow).

Yellow cards: Barclay (26-36 mins), Dunbar (68-78 mins)