IF YOU ARE lucky enough to be an Irish rugby fan in your early 20′s or younger, then you likely don’t remember a time when the national team wasn’t substantially better than Scotland.
For almost all of the Six Nations era, Ireland have enjoyed comfortable wins against their Celtic rivals and have only been defeated by the Scots three times in the tournament.
Two of those, in 2010 and 2013, didn’t really matter in a big picture sense as Ireland had been eliminated from trophy contention although the defeat in 2010 cost Declan Kidney’s side a Triple Crown.
But the game in Murrayfield back in 2001 remains one of Ireland’s worst performances in the Six Nations. That was a weird year for Irish rugby as the Foot and Mouth disease meant that the team only got to play two games during the traditional Six Nations window.
Italy and France were both beaten and although the Grand Slam hype wasn’t as big as it was in Cardiff last weekend, people were quietly confident that Ireland could at least make it unbeaten to the final game, which was England at Lansdowne Road.
Scotland away was the first rescheduled game for Ireland and the feeling was that the home side was definitely vulnerable.
The Scots had only won one of their four fixtures in the tournament that year – at home to Italy – and England had beaten them by 40.
But what unfolded at Murrayfield on 22 September can only be described as one of Irish rugby’s biggest disasters in the professional era – Mick Galwey recently told The42 that he thinks the performance cost Warren Gatland his job as Ireland coach.
It was only Ronan O’Gara’s second year on the Irish team and he kicked poorly, missing two early chances to put Ireland in front.
Ireland were then blown away 32-10, with Scotland running in four tries on the back of a commanding performance from out-half Gregor Townsend, who turned the Irish defence into statues with this delicious show-and-go.
Losing an away game after such a delay wouldn’t have been unforgivable, but to trail a mediocre Scottish side 32-3 with five minutes to go when you have Grand Slam aspirations?
That is hard to stomach.
Ireland have lost PLENTY of games over the last ten years when they have been favoured but they have never received such a convincing walloping when expectations were that high.
Ireland went on to win their remaining two games in style, recording a 30-point win at the Millennium Stadium before beating one of the best England teams ever after Keith Wood’s burrowed five-pointer.
But the damage had been done and Joe Schmidt’s men would do well to remember what happened at Murrayfield back in 2001 when they take the field tomorrow.
Vern Cotter’s vintage are struggling just like the team was 14 years ago, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of making Ireland look unbelievably amateurish once again.
