Scotland fought back against a dominant but wasteful Ireland team, as they won back to back matches in the Six Nations for the first time in 12 years, with a 12-8 victory.
Ireland had over 70% possession throughout the match and if they had been able to finish in the first half then the game should have been taken out of Scotland’s reach, but even after conceding early in the second half Scotland manage to fight back.
There was not much to write home about in the first half hour of the match, with neither side able to trouble the scoreboard. Debutant Paddy Jackson had the best chance for Ireland with a penalty, when Ryan Grant was unjustifiably yellow carded, but he pulled his first effort wide.
Luke Marshall, another debutant in green, was a bright spark throughout the first half with a couple of individual breaks, but he misplaced a pass to Craig Gilroy when the winger could have been through to score.
Keith Earls also had a chance when he broke through the Scottish line but after good work from Stuart Hogg the chance had passed, with Brian O’Driscoll free to put over the line.
The deadlock was finally broke in the 35th minute when Jackson got his first points in international rugby, converting a penalty, giving Ireland a well-deserved 3-0 lead after their utter dominance throughout the first half.
Ireland eventually used their dominance in the early stages of the second half as Gilroy scored his first full international try, but Jackson couldn’t convert as Ireland extended their lead to 8-0.
Scotland finally got on the scoreboard as Greig Laidlaw kicked a penalty in the 53rd minute, reducing the deficit to five points, but Ireland had a chance to strike back immediately with a penalty of their own, only for Jackson to again miss the posts.
A hat-trick of Laidlaw penalties, surrounding a missed one from Jackson, gave Scotland the lead for the first time in the match with only five minutes remaining, and with some strong defending in the last few minutes ensured that Scotland held on for an important win.
Marshall’s debut performance is a positive for Ireland today, with the 21 year old looking assured in the centres alongside O’Driscoll, while Jackson’s kicking is something that they will need to work on ahead of the next match.
Scotland’s victory here leaves them with an outside chance of winning the tournament as they moved up to 2nd in the table equal on points with Wales ahead of a visit from last year’s Grand Slam winners in a fortnights time.
By Joe Aird
@JoeAird5590