Ireland’s Six Nations campaign got off to the worse possible start as Scotland deservedly beat the boys in green 27-22 in Murrayfield this afternoon.
In a game Ireland were expected to win it was the fighting Scots who took all the spoils on home soil to end any hopes of an Irish grand slam early on.
Scotland who have been much improved since last year got off to the perfect start when the ever reliant Stuart Hogg scored the opening try in the 8th minute. Matters got much worse for Ireland when hog crossed the whitewash once again 13 minutes later after superb build up play down the left hand side which spilt open the Irish defence.
Although Ireland did manage to fond their feet in the 26th minute when Keith Earls managed to touch down in the corner after a number o Irish phases. However that reprieve did not last long as Dunbar scored a third try for the Scots after a fantastic quick fire line-out to leave Joe Schmidt’s men stunned.
Paddy Jackson did manage to score a penalty late on the first half to leave Ireland trailing 21-8 going into the break. The second was a completely different affair as Ireland up their game in a determined fashion to turn the game around, and they were rewarded in 42nd minute when Henderson managed to reach the line after a grueling attack on the Scottish defence.
It seemed like the first half was just a minor blip for Ireland as they amazingly took the lead in the 62nd minute when Jackson managed to stretch out and touch the line after it looked like he was about to come up short.
Although Ireland kept applying the pressure it was Scotland who took the lead once again when Laidlaw scored a 73rd minute penalty to dent Irish hopes after they were penalised for not releasing on the floor. With time ticking down Scotland retained their composure and added a final blow with a Laidlaw penalty in the 80th minute.
It is now back to the drawing board for Joe Schmidt and his men as they will look to bounce back and keep any lingering championship hopes alive when they take on Italy in Rome next Saturday.