Ireland Wolfhounds 34 Scotland A 19:IT WAS the usual mix, memorable moves and some sublime attacking – especially from the Wolfhounds, on this their first outing as a rebranded entity – together with a mostly shapeless second half, which saw both benches emptying, but Ireland thoroughly deserved their five-try win and provided enough entertainment to satisfy the 2,746 who turned out at a cold but dry Ravenhill.
Fergus McFadden led the way with two tries which were supplemented by scores from skipper Chris Henry, Isaac Boss and Munster’s new signing, Johne Murphy.
Henry will have done his reputation no harm at all with a marvellously physical performance and nor will Shane Jennings who also stood out both in attack and defence. Gavin Duffy also produced a fine display and had a hand in two of the Irish tries.
Elsewhere, Tony Buckley also looked busy in the loose with some great handling skills but Marcus Horan had an uncomfortable evening up against Euan Murray – only playing because he will not tog out for Scotland on a Sunday – and was penalised several times before being sent to the sin bin at the end of normal time for seemingly back-chatting to French referee Pascal Gauzerre.
On what was their last competitive outing this season and possibly Michael Bradley’s last game in charge, the Wolfhounds’ opening score came after only four minutes from turnover ball after Mike Blair was robbed of possession, with Buckley supplying a deft pass to Darren Cave who drew the cover and lobbed the ball left to Henry who barrelled over the line.
Ian Humphreys made the conversion and landed a penalty just before the 15th minute which Ireland had dominated with some fine handling on show from Devin Toner, Horan and Sean Cronin, Duffy and Ian Dowling.
On pretty much their first visit to Ireland’s 22, Scotland thought Ben Cairns had scored a try but the referee Gauzerre called a forward pass.
Ireland responded with a superb try that owed much to the vision and handling of Cave. Toner’s quick hands gave the Ulster centre some space but his inside pass to Duffy split the visitors’ defence open. The Connacht full back made ground before supplying McFadden for a wonderfully worked score. Humphreys adding the extras to put Ireland 17-0 up.
However, the Wolfhounds found themselves on the back foot only four minutes after the restart when Toner was sent to the bin for punching. The Scots did eventually work their way over after Horan was again penalised at the scrum – Blair took a quick tap and flanker James Eddie was in at the corner. Ruaridh Jackson’s conversion stayed out after hitting the upright but the Wolfhounds responded, Duffy’s run from his own half put McFadden clear for his second try after 55 minutes. Humphreys nailed a great touchline conversion to make it 24-5.
At this point the game began to lose its shape as both benches began to empty, but there were still plenty of scores to come. First up, Scotland replacement Mark Roberston got over the line with Jackson’s conversion making it 24-12 to the Wolfhounds.
Irish replacement Isaac Boss started and finished a move with Johne Murphy and, then, with two minutes of normal time remaining the referee Gauzerre awarded Scotland a penalty try with Jim Thompson’s conversion making it a 10-point gap between the sides.
Even with Horan in the bin, the Wolfhounds scored again, with Murphy doing well to go over in the right corner. Ian Keatley put the tough conversion wide.
IRELAND A:G Duffy, J Murphy, D Cave, F McFadden, I Dowling, I Humphreys, P Stringer, M Horan, S Cronin, T Buckley, R Caldwell, D Toner, D Tuohy, S Jennings, C Henry. Replacements:N Brady for Cronin (64 mins), M Ross for Buckley (64 mins), E ODonoghue for Toner (76 mins), N Ronan for Jennings (69 mins), I Boss for Stringer (64 mins), I Keatley for Humphreys (69 mins), K Matthews for McFadden (58 mins).
SCOTLAND 'A':J Thompson, N Walker, B Cairns, N De Luca, J Houston, R Jackson, M Blair, J Welsh, D Hall, E Murray, S MacLeod, J Hamilton, J Eddie, R Grant S Gray. Replacements:A Kelly for Hall (68 mins), K Traynor for Welsh (56 mins), C Hamilton for McLeod (56 mins), G Laidlaw for Blair (56 mins), R Dewey for De Luca M Robertson for Walker (63 mins).
Referee. P Gauzerre(France)
