Ireland 20 Scotland 23:Ireland's Triple Crown dream turned into a nightmare as Scotland eked out a victory, forged by bravery, character, an excellent rucking game, an ability to take their chances and also availing of Ireland's unusual largesse on a fraught evening in Dublin for the home side.
The last game at Croke Park will be recalled as one in which this Ireland team probably reserved their most error-ridden performance of this season’s Six Nations Championship.
Ireland’s four year tenure at GAA headquarters will now be bookended by defeats. Scotland outhalf Dan Parks deservedly won the man-of-the-match accolade for his kicking both from the hand and the boot. The Irish team was left to rue too many mistakes and once again a lack of appreciation in how to play South African referee Jonathan Kaplan.
Four handling errors in the first six minutes potentially cost Ireland two tries, on the first occasion Tommy Bowe was a little careless with his no-look pass and on the second Gordon D’Arcy took his eye off Jonathan Sexton’s perfectly weighted delivery. The home side were making the line-breaks, the emphasis on passing behind the screen of bodies with the inside backs and blindside wing looping around. The patterns were perfect, the execution flawed.
Ireland’s discipline was also questionable, referee Kaplan taking a dislike to John Hayes methods in the scrum, awarding two free-kicks and one penalty against the Irish tighthead prop in the first four scrums. When Paul O’Connell was penalised for not rolling away in the tackle, Dan Parks’ penalty gave the Scots a 3-0 lead.
The home side refused to be cowed and continued to look to offload in the tackle and also to use the full expanse of the pitch. They were rewarded with the game’s first try, initially turning over a lineout in the Scottish 22 and then after David Wallace had set up a ruck, Sexton took the ball on the loop. He eased through a gap and his inside pass – it looked forward – found the supporting Brian O’Driscoll who touched down.
There was much to admire about the conception and the manner in which the move panned out: the trail runners arriving at pace and the ball carrier aware of their presence. Sexton converted but the Scots regained the lead with a try from Johnnie Beattie following a sequence of Irish mistakes that began with a turnover and could still have been rescued defensively.
The home side continued to make mistakes and this emboldened the Scots who looked to put some width of their own on their attacking gambits. Ireland’s defence creaked a little but they scrambled successfully for the most part.
Kaplan’s interpretation of most aspects of the game wasn’t consistent but he had to be played and once again Ireland’s struggled to adhere to his direction. Parks’ second penalty should have reminded them of the folly. The number of Irish mistakes and turnovers began to spiral and at 11-7 the Scots were looking increasingly comfortable.
The referee’s inability to spot the most blatant knocks-on – ditto for his touch judges – merely ramped up the frustration for the home side, especially in the build-up that culminated in a Parks drop goal on the stroke of half-time to nudge the visitors into a 14-7 lead: one they deserved, not least because they made fewer mistakes and played intelligently.
Ireland were struggling at the breakdown, the Scottish breakaway trio, arriving earlier and hitting the rucks aggressively. Sexton was struggling with his rhythm with the placed ball and pulled an early second half penalty wide. An Irish turnover at a ruck was followed by one at a lineout and then the concession of a penalty, which Parks nailed.
The home side’s defensive line was too passive. It is one thing to allow players make decisions on shooting up but another when the inside defenders resemble an S-bend.
The substitution of Sexton descended into farce. While waiting to take a penalty, Ronan O’Gara came onto the pitch and then went back off. Sexton was then faced with taking the kick knowing that it would be his last involvement in the game. That he was successful spoke volumes for his character.
Ireland finally managed to get some quick ruck ball but the final option to choose the narrow side off a ruck eight metres from the Scottish line was the wrong choice and the ball was turned over. The home side then coughed up three lineouts in succession – six in the match at that point – losing momentum and field position.
The one thing about this Irish side, though, is that even when the engine is spluttering they retain massive self belief and that was evident in the build-up to Tommy Bowe’s try: good protection of the ball, powerful clearing out at the ruck and finally exploiting a numbers game to allow the Irish wing to touch down, probably with his fingernails.
Kaplan was satisfied, if the not the travelling Scottish contingent when they saw the replay. O’Gara’s touchline conversion was magnificent.
The South African official continued to find fault with the Irish scrum, this time Cian Healy and then tagged on a penalty – Heaslip was trying to roll away – which Parks posted from 30 metres to put his side 20-17 ahead with seven minutes left.
O’Connell was adjudged to have knocked on the re-start but from the resulting scrum, Euan Murray appeared to be harshly penalised and O’Gara was unerring from 28 metres. Kaplan’s inconsistency at the breakdown was maddening, allowing the tackled player to hang on but there was little doubt that Rob Kearney held on to the ball when he was tackled. Parks kicked a brilliant penalty with 60 seconds left. On the day it was hard to quibble that they had not deserved their triumph, not least for the strength of character they displayed in refusing to buckle.
Ireland:G. Murphy, Bowe, B. O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Earls, Sexton, O'Leary, Healy, R. Best, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell, Ferris, D. Wallace, Heaslip. Replacements:Kearney for G. Murphy (26), O'Gara for Sexton (52), Buckley for Hayes (80). Not Used:Cronin, Cullen, Jennings, Reddan.
Scorers
Tries:O'Driscoll, Bowe.
Cons:Sexton, O'Gara.
Pens:Sexton, O'Gara.
Scotland:Southwell, S. Lamont, De Luca, Morrison, M. Evans, Parks, Cusiter, Jacobsen, Ford, Murray, Hamilton, Kellock, Brown, Barclay, Beattie. Replacements:Danielli for S. Lamont (73), Blair for Cusiter (52), Dickinson for Jacobsen (67), S. Lawson for Ford (72), R. Gray for Hamilton (52). Not Used:MacDonald, Godman.
Scorers
Tries:Beattie.
Pens:Parks 5.
Drop Goals:Parks.
Att:80,313
Ref:J Kaplan (South Africa).