THIS WAS THE first opportunity I had to see an Irish team in the flesh since the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand, and they displayed how they have become such a complete side and why they are rightly ranked number one in the world.
This was an utterly dominant performance on both sides of the ball.
Statistically speaking, Scotland enjoyed the lion’s share of both position and possession in the opening half but they were comprehensively outmuscled, particularly up front where they just could not generate the requisite go-forward ball to trouble Ireland’s world-class forward unit.
Half an hour into the game, Scotland had made 51 carries to Ireland’s 31 but, to emphasise the above point, it was Ireland who had won the ‘metre-eater’ battle with 167 metres gained to Scotland’s’ 107. And they took their scores with apparent ease in contrast to all of Scotland’s toil for no return.
The more time Scotland spent in Ireland’s territory, the more their attack resembled a touch rugby team. They craved after a coast-to coast game but the more they tried to will it into existence, the more Ireland started to dominate the defensive exchanges, be they in the tackle or at the breakdown.
Rugby is still a simple game and Scotland could not earn the right to go wide by first going forward. They fell foul of what has become a trademark Simon Easterby-coached defensive display.
It was Ireland’s forwards who led the way in the tackle count: their pack were the top eight tacklers on the team, with the outstanding Calean Doris the leader on 21 tackles, followed closely by the utterly omnipresent Josh van der Flier.
They were tested on numerous occasions in the first half, Scotland turning down multiple shots at goal in an attempt to assert dominance both physically and on the scoreboard, where the four-try bonus point mattered to Gregor Townsend’s side.
At the first time of asking, Ireland came up with a huge defensive set in their own 22′. An inventive little trap play back down the short side from Scotland appeared to stretch Ireland but Mack Hansen came up with a brilliant scramble tackle on Blair Kinghorn and Doris hunted strongly from the inside to come up with the first jackal penalty of the game.
Scotland’s very next entry into Ireland’s 22′ was stopped at source, with the imperious centurion Peter O’Mahony rising highest at the front of the lineout to deny Scotland.
The Scots came again, this time attempting to go after Ireland’s defensive maul from the very next lineout possession.
But just as Scotland would struggle to generate momentum through their multiphase attack, the Irish forwards were not for moving in the maul, either.
With Plan A out the window, Scotland attempted to get to width from the stationary maul but this time it was Hugo’s Keenan’s turn to come up with a brilliant one-on-one tackle on the left edge. Ireland would give up a rare penalty, one of a miserly seven on the night, but a narrative was developing.
Again, Scotland went to the maul off the resulting penalty. Again, they were denied an inch by the Irish pack.
Having learned from the unwise decision to go to the edge off the previous, stationary maul, this time Scotland looked to build phases — 14 of them — with a more direct approach.
It was an opportunity for Ireland to deliver a physical riposte, which they duly did with a brutally physical and accurate application to the contact areas. That ultimately delivered a massive turnover through a Doris counter-ruck, forcing Ali Price to spill the ball.
Scotland had thrown their swings and Ireland hadn’t flinched. It felt like Ireland had won both the physical and psychological war with a fair chunk of the game still remaining.
In stark contrast, Ireland’s attack was dominant when called upon.
From Lowe’s try in the opening two minutes to the brilliantly executed six-man-lineout strike play — in which Stuart McCloskey, Johnny Sexton, Bundee Aki and Gary Ringrose (from blindside wing) all executed their roles exceptionally well for Hugo Keenan to score — Scotland looked incapable of containing an Irish offensive that looked back to its fluid and threatening best.
It was a sublime mix of styles from Andy Farrell’s men with ball in hand. There were moments of brilliant invention, such as the Van der Flier in-pass to Tadhg Beirne off the second-phase stack shape, backed up by the mind-blowing work-rate of Jamison Gibson-Park to reload 60 metres from the right wing where he had just carried, all the way to the other side of the field to create the extra number for Dan Sheehan to score in the left corner.
Tag on the accurate and abrasive work from the tight five which delivered tries for Ireland off the back of quick-tap penalties, as well as the excellently constructed sixth and final Ireland try which was finished off stylishly with a Jack Crowely kick-pass to Ringrose, and Mike Catt should be pleased with the upward trajectory of Ireland’s attack entering the business end of the tournament.
No doubt the couple of late Scottish scores will irk Ireland, but truly the game was all but over on the 50-minute mark.
In what were high-pressured stakes, it was an impressively ruthless performance from the world’s best.