“It’s such a testament to our belief,” says Jack Conan about Ireland’s battling victory
That’s all from me. Stay tuned for the match report from Gerry Thornley.
FULL-TIME: Scotland 7 Ireland 22
An embattled Ireland dig deep to beat Scotland with strong second half display. A number of concerning injuries but Ireland show their class, with Mack Hansen instrumental and a deserved player of the match. Only one game away from the Grand Slam, next up is England at the Aviva on Saturday.
78 mins: Oh no, so close to an Ireland try! Lowe runs through the middle to Gibson-Park on the wing. Gibson-Park with a perfect pass to James Ryan who almost get to the line but drops the ball. Hard luck. The resulting Scotland scrum however leads to another turnover for Ireland. Cian Healy with a silly error though, didn’t touch the ball from the free and Scotland get the scrum again.
Scotland 7 Ireland 22
Ringrose taken away on a stretcher, he’s got his thumb up at least as he gets a round of applause. Not a nice sight. Six minute stoppage, it’s a Scotland scrum.
76 mins: Big hit by O’Mahony knocks Scotland into touch. But Ireland lose the line-out. Bad kick by Tuipulotu straight back into touch.
73 mins: Medics coming on for a Garry Ringrose injury. Oh no, that’s a horrible injury, a hit on the neck. The game stops. Aki back on.
Scotland 7 Ireland 22
71 mins: More sharp play by Ireland as Gibson-Park has made a difference in the speed of Ireland’s play since he’s come on. Sexton comes off, if he’s to beat O’Gara then it will have to be next week against England. Ross Byrne is on.
Scotland 7 Ireland 22
67 mins: Some bad mistakes from Scotland, they lose a line-out and then Matt Fagerson plays a sloppy forward pass. Heads are down, can they fight back or can Ireland get a bonus point? Henshaw is on for Ireland for Bundee Aki.
Scotland 7 Ireland 22
63 mins: TRY FOR IRELAND! More good play by Ireland as Hansen plays a nice pass to the wing, Lowe’s kick goes well and the chase down to the wing, Scotland barely get away to touch. Line-out by Ireland is successful. To the other wing and another great pass by Hansen to Jack Conan on the wing who shows great strength to stand his ground and finish on the line. Sexton converts. Only one point from O’Gara’s Six Nations record.
Scotland 7 Ireland 22
58 mins: TRY FOR IRELAND! James Lowe over at the wing. Gibson Park’s kick is brilliantly caught high from the air by Hansen and then great offload to Sexton. Ireland go to the other wing and Lowe scores his ninth try. Quite a few cynical moves by Scotland there that weren’t penalised, surely a yellow card there somewhere. Anyway Sexton converts nicely from the wing.
Scotland 7 Ireland 15
55 mins: On comes Jamison Gibson-Park for Conor Murray, who should bring a bit of pace to proceedings. Great scrum by Cian Healy as Ireland win the penalty. Irish line-out in midfield.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
53 mins: Lots of mistakes by Ireland this half as Lowe slices his kick. Scotland maul gets nowhere and then Russell’s no-look pass goes forward. Error-strewn start to the half by both teams.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
49 mins: Mack Hansen turns over the ball with a steal, Scotland penalised for not releasing. Ronan Kelleher off, Cian Healy on. Both Irish hookers off through injury. Van der Flier on the throws. Cian Healy will play orthodox hooker role, not going for uncontested scrums.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
46 mins: Ringrose with a chip and chase to the line but Russell puts it down. Lots of kicking back and forth to start the half. Ireland sloppy and Scotland turn over the ball again. But van der Merwe knocks the ball forward. Mistakes for both teams.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
42 mins: Second half has begun. Cian Healy was practising his line-out throws, as van der Flier has to take the line-out throw. Concern that Kelleher has a problem with his arm and will join Sheehan on the injury table. Sexton turned over and Ireland concede a penalty.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
HALF-TIME: Scotland 7 Ireland 8
A very even game here, Ireland have been really tested. Unlucky to have a try disallowed in the opening minutes after Doris caught a wayward Scottish lineout, saved by Scotland using the wrong ball. Hansen and Jones with tries from both teams. Scotland with plenty of chances to get a second try and constantly threatening. Really is all to play for in the second half.
The tries again:
40 mins: Ireland give away penalty for offside. Russell goes to the corner, 12 metres from the try line. They win the line-out and Scotland play it quickly and spread across to the other side of the pitch, but goes over the sideline. Half-time then.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
37 mins: Oh dear. Line-out is overthrown by Kelleher from five metres away and Scotland survive. Uncharacteristic mistake from Ireland.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
35 mins: Superb break by Ireland, Conan gets a gap and set Lowe away. Ireland put serious pressure on and Scotland give away penalty for cynical block of the ball by Hogg. Second penalty to Ireland. Once more in the corner.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
32 mins: Scotland with an attacking line-out. Gap for Scotland. Russell gives short to van der Merwe who runs but is tackled, should have passed to the wing. Ireland turn over the ball. Big let-off.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
27 mins: TRY FOR IRELAND! Henderson is the third Irish player off injured, with a wrist injury in only 25 minutes. Ryan Baird comes on. Ritchie slightly harshly penalised as he tried to steal the ball from Conor Murray. Ireland on the attack. Keenan with a great pass to the wing to Hansen, again one on one on the wing. Tight one, TMO review. Try is given! Superb finish to get it down under serious pressure from van der Merwe. Sexton misses the conversion.
Scotland 7 Ireland 8
24 mins: Big tackle by James Lowe forces a turnover and halts momentum. Ireland win the scrum. Scotland get possession back but Ireland turn it over again and a kick by Sexton wins a lot of momentum after a foot rush. Irish line-out in the middle of the pitch.
Scotland 7 Ireland 3
18 mins: Try for Scotland! Murray clears the kick to van der Merwe. Another Scotland attack. Russell with a dummy and pass to van der Merwe. More short, sharp passes. Scotland five metres away. Tuipulotu to Huw Jones, who is over the line in front of the posts! Great rugby by Scotland. Russell converts. More bad news as Dan Sheehan is off injured. Kelleher on.
Scotland 7 Ireland 3
15 mins: Russell makes some ground as Scotland are on the attack. Scotland with quick ball through White. Russell to Hogg on the wing but he’s carried over the line by James Ryan after some blistering Scotland passing. Good defending by Ireland as Sexton receives treament for injury but seems to be okay.
Scotland 0 Ireland 3
12 mins: Johnny Sexton tees it up and an easy penalty over the posts. Ireland take the lead. Bad news for Ireland as Doris is replaced through injury. Jack Conan on.
Scotland 0 Ireland 3
11 mins: Great kick from Garry Ringrose which bounces up nicely and puts Hogg under pressure. Lowe forces him out and it’s a 5 metre lineout. A maul towards the line. Penalty advantage to Ireland, Russell offside. Ringrose wrestled short of the line. Murray recycling quickly but Scotland hang on. Long pass to Hansen in one on one but he can’t get over the line. Brought back for a penalty.
Scotland 0 Ireland 0
9 mins: Doris down injured after catching the overthrow from the line-out. Concerning for Ireland. Sexton kicks down the middle but mark is called by Steyn who kicks to touch.
Scotland 0 Ireland 0
6 mins: Try by Ireland ruled out! Sexton tries the grubber kick and finds touch. Scotland take a quick lineout which is a disaster and which is spectacularly caught by Doris. Ireland get it over the line but it’s brought back because Scotland used a new ball for the line-out. Ireland penalised for Scotland’s mistake. A strange one.
Scotland 0 Ireland 0
2 mins: Some early kicking back and forth, Finn Russell gains 50 metres with a kick deep into the Ireland half.
Scotland 0 Ireland 0
Time for the national anthems.
Another player to watch out for from Scotland is Ben White, who has been the Six Nations’ most influential scrumhalf.
“If Ireland are beaten at Murrayfield on Sunday, though, an interesting reception will await White when he returns to club duty before London Irish’s highly anticipated St Patrick’s Party game against Northampton on March 25th.
Declan Kidney, the former Ireland head coach, kept White on the field for all but the closing moments of Sunday’s 34-19 win at Newcastle – “Declan said last week he’d try and tire me out. I think he was joking” – and an Irish grand slam would clearly go down well with many at the club.
[ Scotland’s Ben White has been the Six Nations’ most influential scrumhalfOpens in new window ]
ICYMI, the starting teams again:
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Iain Henderson, James Ryan; Peter O’Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Scotland: Stuart Hogg; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Znder Fagerson; Richie Gray, Jonny Gray; Matt Fagerson, Jamie Ritchie (capt), Jack Dempsey.
Scotland are a serious force for Ireland to reckon with, writes Matt Williams.
“An electrified Murrayfield atmosphere will lift Scotland to play the type of rugby that could force a breakthrough Triple Crown victory. Yet the evidence suggests that this excellent Irish team should add them to a long list of teams who have fallen to their high tempo, accurate and physical game plan.
Either way, a belter of a game awaits.”
Sets it up, nicely, doesn’t it?
The team has arrived at Murrayfield.
Speaking of Sexton, himself and Russell provide a compelling subplot to the Murrayfield showdown, in a battle of two of the world’s best outhalfs.
“In five games against Ireland where Russell was opposing Sexton, the latter has won them all. Curiously, they have only ever met once below international level, back in October 2017 in the Champions Cup, when Sexton was in imperious form with a 17-point man-of-the-match display in Leinster’s 34-18 bonus-point win over Glasgow at Scotstoun.”
“They see the game so well, both of them,” says Brian O’Driscoll. “They can both pull the pass at the last second, brilliantly. I think they’re on a par in that.”
[ Sexton and Russell provide a compelling subplot to Murrayfield showdownOpens in new window ]
Earlier this week, Irish captain Johnny Sexton said he was ready to take on “best Scottish team I’ve ever played”. High praise for the Scots then. The outhalf has fully recovered from the groin strain which he sustained when the 162kg Uini Atonio fell on top of him in Ireland’s win over France.
“I think some of the results show that, beating England regularly, beating France a few times, obviously beating Wales as well recently. So, they’ve had some big wins over the last number of years and they’ve been building nicely.
“They’ve brought in a lot of new players over the last couple of years as well which has made the team stronger. So, it’s definitely the best, yeah.”
[ Johnny Sexton ready to take on ‘best Scottish team I’ve ever played’Opens in new window ]
The Irish team look better equipped to cope with demands of big Six Nations occasion, writes rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley in his preview of today’s match.
“For his part, Farrell has recalled six serious Test animals in Garry Ringrose, Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong and Peter O’Mahony.
Ringrose’s ability to play cat-and-mouse with Russell while shepherding that 20-metre channel to the touchline is arguably the most important of all.
Having Caelan Doris at 8 and Bundee Aki at 12, and Jamison Gibson-Park back on a strong bench, also looks helpful, and this team have consistently offset individual rustiness through the quality of their training.”
Here is how the Six Nations table looks:
Yesterday, ruthless France gave England a record Twickenham mauling as the visitors scored seven tries to record first win in the Six Nations at Twickenham for 18 years. A shocking scoreline of England 10 France 53.
Elsewhere, Wales picked up their first Six Nations win in a wooden-spoon battle with dogged Italy. Rhys Webb inspired the visitors to a bonus point Six Nations win in Rome. Italy 17 Wales 29.
Team news
Andy Farrell has made six changes to the Irish starting XV with Tadhg Furlong returning at tight-head for his first game since early December.
Garry Ringrose, Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray, Dan Sheehan and Peter O’Mahony are all restored as well, with Bundee Aki and Caelan Doris each reverting to their more familiar positions of inside centre and number ‘8′ respectively.
The match-day 23 has also been strengthened by the return from injury of Jamison Gibson-Park and Robbie Henshaw to the replacements, where Cian Healy is preferred to David Kilcoyne. Ronan Kelleher, Jack Conan and Ross Byrne revert to the bench after starting in Ireland’s 34-20 win over Italy in Rome a fortnight ago.
Ireland: Hugo Keenan (Leinster); Mack Hansen (Connacht), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Bundee Aki (Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Johnny Sexton (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster); Andrew Porter (Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster); Iain Henderson (Ulster), James Ryan (Leinster); Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster).
Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Leinster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Tom O’Toole (Ulster), Ryan Baird (Leinster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Ross Byrne (Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster).
Scotland: Stuart Hogg; Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe; Finn Russell, Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Znder Fagerson; Richie Gray, Jonny Gray; Matt Fagerson, Jamie Ritchie (capt), Jack Dempsey
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, Simon Berghan, Scott Cummings, Hamish Watson, Ali Price, Blair Kinghorn, Chris Harris
Hello and welcome to live coverage and build-up to the Ireland’s crucial Six Nations game against Scotland at Murrayfield. France’s bonus point victory over England means Ireland can’t win the championship today, but they can put it almost beyond doubt with a bonus point victory in Edinburgh, and leave themselves a match away from a Grand Slam at the Aviva next Saturday against England.
Scotland have looked arguably as strong as they have since they won the Five Nations in 1999 and will provide a stern test for Andy Farrell’s men, who are back at almost full strength after some injury concerns. Kick off is at 3pm. @DavidGorman20.
