Scotland v Ireland: Five takeaways as champions’ ‘simplicity and accuracy’ paves the way to bonus-point triumph at Murrayfield
Ireland wing James Lowe launches an attack against Scotland and the men from the Emerald Isle's interim coach Simon Easterby.
Following a 32-18 victory for Ireland against Scotland in the Six Nations, here’s our five takeaways from an entertaining encounter at Murrayfield on Sunday.
The top line
Ireland continued where they left off in the second half against England last weekend to deliver a pulverising first-half performance of relentless pressure and high intellect rugby to take a bonus-point win at Murrayfield in a game of flashpoint and incident.
Scotland lost two key players, Finn Russell and Darcy Graham, in the first quarter and a litany of self-inflicted exit errors put an end to this contest before it had reached the 30-minute mark. For fully 40 minutes, it was the best version of Ireland and the worst version of Scotland as Fortress Murrayfield was burst apart before anyone had even heard the doorbell.
Calvin Nash, Caelan Doris, James Lowe, Jack Conan all crossed the line without Ireland ever having to hit their top gear in terms of attacking intent. It was the sheer pressure of breakdown work, the accuracy of kick and the hustle of chase that gave the visitors their chances as Sam Prendergast and Jamison Gibson-Park drove their side with precision and intent from halfback as both shone in a display of confidence and control.
Scotland suffered some huge injury disruptions and it’s to their credit that either side of the break they scored eleven unanswered points, but it was never anything more than harum-scarum, consolation scores for a side that we’ve come to expect so much more from. The second half saw a much better performance with far more control, Ben White getting through tackles to grab a score and a renewed effort of aggression around the gainline collision, but it was too much too late for the hosts who will be bitterly disappointed in their performance.
Simplicity
At the heart of the Irish win was simplicity and accuracy. It was the basics of the game, the things that take no talent to be exceptional at, that the visitors executed with brilliant commitment and no less precision.
The ruck contest was dominated by the men in green. It wasn’t the turnovers, it was the disruption that did the damage, as Scotland never managed fast ball from the base, often spending their time digging the ball out from underneath a heap of Irish rugby IQ as their back-row put in a performance of real gritty power.
The motto of the Ireland coaching team is Three Bs – Blitz, Bang and Barge – a combination of line speed, hard hits and ruck disruption to create absolute chaos around the collision and, despite the best efforts of the outstanding Rory Darge at openside, Ireland completely monstered their opponents in every aspect around that key breakdown area.
Steamrollered
The first thirteen minutes of this game saw Scotland concede five penalties, a yellow card and four charge downs as Ireland absolutely steamrollered their hosts in the opening stages.
It was brilliant yet brutal, belligerent yet beautiful – a side playing with complete purpose and precision as the visitors sprang out of the traps and pressured Scotland from the first minute.
It was a combination of some schoolboy errors from the hosts; a couple of pushes on players – one that saw Duhan van der Merwe sent to the bin for ten minutes – and some horrendous lack of detail, as Ireland defenders stayed on their feet to get through the defending pillars and put enormous pressure on the Scots’ exit plan.
For the first quarter, Ireland enjoyed 77% possession and a quite remarkable 82% territorial advantage as Scotland simply crumbled under the enormous ruck and defensive pressure Ireland exerted. It wasn’t anything more than Simon Easterby’s side sticking to their 3B DNA in defence (Blitz, Bang, Barge) but the naiviety of Scotland in exit and in clearing needed to be seen to be believed, especially considering what a high quality side they are.
They might argue that there were a few calls that didn’t go their way – and they might well have a point – but don’t underestimate the wave of green pressure that kept the hosts in the shadow of the North Stand for such long periods of the first half – it was absolutely outstanding work from a brilliant abrasive side. The only question you might have had at half time was if 17-5 was a reasonable conversion of the advantages they created?
Prendergast impresses
With Russell clashing heads with Graham after some 21 minutes of the match, Scotland’s key playmaker and territorial captain was sorely missed. With a reshuffled backline and Tom Jordan stepping into ten, Scotland were always going to be somewhat disrupted and, with Blair Kinghorn not having his best day with the boot, they struggled to get any form of advantage in airways.
Prendergast has some real class with the boot – and his distance is a real superpower as he managed four kicks that hit over the 60-metre mark. With Gibson-Park having a very effective match kicking from the base, and Lowe adding some raking touch-finders on the left flank, Ireland’s superiority with the boot was a key component of this match.
Great kicking also needs competition and pressure, and the Irish chasers duly obliged, with Nash, Bundee Aki and Hugo Keenan very much getting the better of their opposite numbers in an all action display of wonderful aerial skills.
Prendergast didn’t have his best game against England last weekend but his poise, execution and intellect in this game, combined with some lovely distribution to his running pods, shone like a beacon, furthering his chances of booking a place on the Lions plane in a highly competitive position.
Scotland wounds
Scotland will travel to Twickenham to face a rejuvenated England fresh off a win against France. Their opponents haven’t beaten the men in blue for some four seasons now, as winning in the Calcutta Cup clash has become a major obstacle.
Gregor Townsend will believe in his men – they have the reference points of real improvement and outcomes for the last two or three seasons – but he will expect much more composure and accuracy in their match in a fortnight.
He’ll also be sweating on the fitness of two key men – Graham and Russell. The wing looked spark out as he was stretchered off, but Russell looked to have recovered well during the match and Scotland will be confident of his fitness.
But the focus will be on the precision of the basics, something that ordinarily the Scots do well. Concede 12 penalties against England and they know they will struggle. To quote Jim Telfer, it’s the classic case of playing with ice in their heads and fire in the hearts next round and Scotland will be doing everything they can to right the issues of their performance in this game.
READ MORE: Scotland v Ireland, AS IT HAPPENED: Sam Prendergast shines as visitors stay unbeaten in Six Nations
