From being in full control to a nervy finish

Scotland 18 Ireland 21:PHEW AGAIN. In time-honoured fashion, the cardiac team in green took themselves and their supporters to the edge in another fraught finish with the Scots. This was their third one-score Six Nations win at Murrayfield in a row and, while it should never have come to that, somehow you suspected it would.

The pity of it, or at any rate the near disaster of it, was that Ireland were patently the better team. The tally of three tries to nil scarcely illustrated the gulf in attacking class.

Ireland kept their shape and also mixed it up well, taking it up close-in through the likes of David Wallace, Paul O’Connell and Cian Healy, through the middle, where Seán O’Brien’s support play made him the game’s most dynamic player, going blind or putting width on the ball.

And they generated quick ball for Eoin Reddan, whose footwork has improved this season, to move the ball away sharply to the first receiver.

And Reddan’s performance, illuminated by a try, merits more credit in that he was afforded little protection from lazy runners or illegal spoiling at the base by referee Nigel Owens.

Ronan O’Gara also ensured Ireland mixed up their running game by playing some territory with a few perfectly weighted touch-finders into the corner. This had the double effect of keeping Chris Paterson out of range – a lesson learned from the French match – and, like the French game, also led directly to one of Ireland’s tries.

In truth, it was something of a master class in game management by O’Gara, who pulled the strings, mixed his game up perfectly and almost without error, put his body on the line and scored a cheeky try.

While the constant re-setting and collapse again used up too much time, Ireland’s scrummaging hasn’t been this aggressive at this level in yonks – so, a further pat on the back for all the frontrowers. Three lineouts were pilfered by the Scots, who themselves had a crooked throw and lost one, while in the collisions and at the breakdown Ireland were in enough comfort to have avoided a few of the penalties.

Another quibble is that Ireland’s defence was a little too passive, and they need to rediscover some of the more aggressive line-speed which highlighted the Grand Slam campaign. It is certainly in marked contrast to say, the Welsh, who also have far more potency in their backs and therefore will punish Ireland more.

Overall though, save for that cursed penalty count, much of Ireland’s play was positive and good, and with a bit more variety than of late. An early example was O’Gara’s clever crosskick for Tommy Bowe which earned the attacking lineout for another early try. From Paul O’Connell’s take, Wallace and Healy drove for the line, Donncha O’Callaghan cleared out for Reddan to find Best. He was already lined up by Sean Lamont, but Nick de Luca charged out of the line for the double hit and Best put Heaslip through the ensuing hole. O’Gara converted.

Then it was back to the same old routine. Healy was adjudged offside, Heaslip tugged Mike Blair illegally at the base for Paterson to make it 6-7, before O’Gara was short and wide from long range.

But after Reddan turned pressurised ball into a stunning break out of his 22, O’Gara located a trademark touchfinder. Ross Ford went long, where Lamont grabbed the bouncing ball, only to spill it when tackled hard by Best, whose follow-up tackle on Blair earned a five-metre scrum. From an aggressive scrum, Jamie Heaslip picked and charged at Ruaidhri Jackson, and Reddan ripped the ball from his team-mate to score untouched.

Alas, Best partially undid that good work when he didn’t release after tackling Ford for Paterson to make it 14-9.

Ireland went through 14 phases, only for O’Gara to be done for not releasing – one of three marginal penalties against the away side in the Scottish 22 – before O’Gara was short and wide from half-way.

The half finished with Bowe coming off his wing to take O’Gara’s skip pass, Luke Fitzgerald linked well to put Keith Earls away. Lamont made the covering tackle, though it looked as if Fitzgerald was obstructed off the ball.

The second period resumed promisingly for Ireland when Allan Jacobsen was yellow carded for driving across the scrum at Best. Cue intense pressure as Ireland went for the jugular off a lineout maul, but Reddan’s pass inside to O’Brien was wrongly called forward.

Reddan was then scragged at the base for what seemed a clear-cut penalty and yellow card.

Ireland kept knocking, O’Brien making another superb support run. A try had to come, and it did when O’Gara handed off Ford and even had the temerity to sidestep Paterson in the in-goal area to narrow his conversion. Cue the Fields of Athenry for the first time, but also the last.

Heaslip looked to be on his feet when making a steal, as O’Driscoll clearly thought, but Owens adjudged he was “on one knee”, while O’Brien was fortunate not to be yellow carded for hands in a ruck as Paterson and Parks trimmed the lead in turn. Then Parks landed a drop goal with Owens playing advantage against Denis Leamy with Ireland again in yellow card territory.

In fairness, Leamy really put himself about when he came on, as did Jonathan Sexton, and was just what was needed for the backs-against-the-wall finale. There were a few scary moments, none hairier than when Max Evans scampered through the heart of the defence only to be stopped by Fitzgerald and Peter Stringer.

Ireland had long since appeared to be losing their nerve and playing for the clock – witness Bowe delaying a touch down and Ireland taking an age for a 22-metre restart. Their confidence and game management seemed to ebb away as the Scots came remorselessly to within six and then three points, and they were reduced to holding on for their lives out of sheer bravery, putting bodies on the line.

No one epitomised this more than O’Connell with a steal on the deck and in contact, along with Ireland’s sole lineout steal – all in the last five minutes.

At least they could look themselves in the eye knowing they’d done that, and had won. It would have been close to criminal not to have.

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6 mins: Heaslip try, O’Gara con 0-7; 16: Paterson pen 3-7; 18: Paterson pen 6-7; 28: Reddan try, O’Gara con 6-14; 32: Paterson pen 9-14; 53: O’Gara try, con 9-21; 58: Parks pen 12-21; 66: Parks pen 15-21; 70: Parks drop goal 18-21.

SCOTLAND: C Paterson (Edinburgh); N Walker (Ospreys), N De Luca (Edinburgh), S Lamont (Scarlets), M Evans (Glasgow Warriors); R Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), M Blair (Edinburgh); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh), M Low (Glasgow Warriors), R Gray (Glasgow Warriors), A Kellock (Glasgow Warriors, capt), K Brown (Saracens), J Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), J Beattie (Glasgow Warriors). Replacements: G Cross (Edinburgh) for Beattie (46-55 mins) and for Low (66 mins), S Lawson (Gloucester) for Ford, R Vernon (Glasgow Warriors) for Beattie, D Parks (Cardiff Blues) for Jackson (all 53 mins), R Lawson (Gloucester) for Blair (61 mins), N Hines (Leinster) for Barclay (66 mins), S Danielli (Ulster) for Walker (75 mins). Sinbinned: Jacobsen (45-55 mins).

IRELAND: L Fitzgerald (Leinster); T Bowe (Ospreys), B O’Driscoll (Leinster, capt), G D’Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster); R O’Gara (Munster), E Reddan (Leinster); C Healy (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), M Ross (Leinster), D O’Callaghan (Munster), P O’Connell (Munster), S O’Brien (Leinster), D Wallace (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster). Replacements: S Cronin (Connacht) for Best, D Leamy (Munster) for Wallace, P Stringer (Munster) for Reddan (all 61 mins), L Cullen (Leinster) for O’Callaghan (67 mins), J Sexton (Leinster) for O’Gara (68 mins), T Court (Ulster) for Ross (71 mins). Not used: P Wallace (Ulster).

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).