The Scottish media reaction to Ireland’s 22-7 win over Scotland in the Six Nations focused mostly on either the quality gulf between the two teams or the missed opportunity that was presented to beat Ireland at Murrayfield.
Alasdair Reid of the Times said the gap between Scotland and Ireland was as “yawningly wide as the Irish Sea”.
Reid said for Ireland it was hardly a performance that “reinforced their standing as the best team on earth” as they spent “two thirds of the game in second gear, but Scotland could not find a way past them”.
He focused on how Gregor Townsend is yet to beat Ireland with Scotland, when at one point in the 1990s such a task was routine. “Across the board Ireland have surged ahead, leaving Scotland trailing in their wake. Their club sides have won a mountain of silverware, while the Scots have won next to nothing.” He pointed to Ireland Under-20s’ 82-7 mauling of Scotland Under-20s as a sign of the near future also.
Looking ahead to the World Cup, he thinks only Ireland’s past World Cup shockers give Scotland a chance of progressing from their group. “The best hope for Scotland would appear to be that Ireland throw in one of those dreadful displays that they always seem to reserve for World Cup tournaments – and that they do it against Scotland in October.”
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Calum Crowe of the Scottish Daily Mail writes that Ireland pulled off a “champions’ performance from a champion team.”
He writes: “They are the benchmark. Top dogs. No1 in the world – and for good reason. Andy Farrell has built a ruthless machine and a team who seem to have forgotten how to lose.
“Irish bodies were dropping like flies, but it was Scottish pride that was bruised and wounded deepest of all.”
He criticised Scotland’s mental approach. “Make no mistake, Gregor Townsend and his players will never have a better opportunity of beating the Irish than they did yesterday. On a mental level, Scotland imploded in the second half. Perhaps they suffer from some sort of stage fright or mental block when presented with the chance of victory over Ireland.”
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Graham Bean in the Scotsman wrote Scotland found themselves overwhelmed by Ireland in the second half, swept away by the Irish juggernaut. “The longer the game went on, the more difficult it became for the Scots who didn’t score a point for 63 minutes. The game had slipped away from Scotland and it was Ireland, who ended on the front foot.”
Stuart Bathgate in the Scottish Herald said the only real consolation on an anticlimactic afternoon was Scotland denied Ireland a bonus point.
“The reality, surely, is that they are the third-best team in the tournament – no disgrace, but well short of the high hopes that were evident when they won their first two matches for the first time in 26 years,” Bathgate writes.
Charles Townsend of the Daily Telegraph writes that Townsend’s charges were left “blitzed and battered” by Ireland. He praised James Ryan and Mack Hansen in particularly, the latter who had a “second half for the ages”.
“Even with players dropping like flies, Ireland maintained their elegance,” he wrote.
