Scotland vs. Ireland: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Six Nations Round 5
Ireland marched into Murrayfield and beat Scotland 40-10 in Round 5 of the 2015 Six Nations, overtaking Wales in the standings in the process. The dominant performance and big win mean the Irish will repeat as champions.
England needed to beat France by 26 to have any chance of overtaking Ireland and fell just short, winning 55-35 at Twickenham in the final match if the competition.
Scotland end this year's competition without a win, and Saturday's embarrassing loss shows the team still has a long way to go if they are to have any success at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
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The defending champions came into the match locked in a three-way battle with England and Wales for the title, and following the latter's big win over Italy, Wales took the lead and did a nice job boosting their points difference in the process.
Welsh Rugby Union shared the standings after the first of Saturday's fixtures:
The visitors took a bad start, as nobody put themselves under the kick-off, but Ireland soon took control. The first scrum of the match yielded the first try, skipper Paul O'Connell the man punching the ball in after a long defensive stand from Scotland.
As shared by BBC Sport's Conor McNamara, O'Connell isn't one to score often:
Johnny Sexton converted a penalty just minutes later, as Ireland got off to a quick start. Joe Schmidt had clearly given his players carte blanche in the Scottish half, and for the first time this tournament, we were seeing plenty of offloads and some real creativity from the visitors.
Euan Murray left the pitch with an injury to the face, but Scotland's scrum started gaining some momentum midway through the first half. Greig Laidlaw reduced Ireland's lead to seven points with a conversion, before Sean O'Brien scored his side's second try:
Things were going well for Ireland, but their bid to pass Wales in the standings took a hit when Finn Russell scored the first try for the hosts, to the delight of the Murrayfield crowd. Scotland took advantage of a penalty on the line-out, which remains a concern for the Irish heading into this year's World Cup.
Cheering for Russell and the Scots doesn't come naturally to the Welsh, per WalesOnline Rugby:
The resulting kick-off immediately yielded another penalty, and Sexton stepped up to make it 20-10. That would be the half-time score, and with the Scots looking tired in the final minutes of the first half, things were looking up for Ireland.
IndySport reminded fans of the necessary winning margin to pass Wales:
Ireland put even more pressure on the Scottish defence early in the second half, and once again, Sexton took advantage of some mental lapses to put up three more points. A broken scrum and long maul then put the visitors level on points with the Welsh, courtesy of a Jared Payne try. Fewer tries meant more was needed, however.
The pressure was starting to get to the visitors, who wasted several golden opportunities to pass the mark. Sexton in particular uncharacteristically started to struggle, missing two routine penalties.
Former rugby star Paul Wallace blamed the Welsh:
The Scots were all over the place defensively, completely breaking down, and finally, Sexton booted a kick through the uprights to carry his team's points difference past Wales.
JOE.ie wanted more:
With nine minutes left on the clock, O'Brien reached for his second try of the match, but Ireland got away with a huge mental error when Stuart Hogg dropped the ball just before touching down a try of his own. Ian Madigan had the final chance to add to Ireland's tally, missing the penalty to keep the score of 40-10 on the board.
The result meant England would have to beat France by 26 in the final match of this year's Six Nations. Speaking to BBC Sport, O'Connell was unsure whether he and his team-mates had done enough to secure the title:
"We were very muted at the end of game. We don't know if it will be enough. It will be an exciting afternoon.
We've our post-match meal now and will dine with the Scotland team. It will be a nervous afternoon."
Ultimately, England fell just short after a wild and wacky affair in London, with Hoggs' close miss for Scotland proving decisive.
Scotland once again disappointed on the big stage, committing far too many errors and losing the battle at the set pieces. Tommy Seymour told the Six Nations' official website the Scots are fully aware of their faults:
"We need to stop being the creators of our own downfall at times. But there is certainly no fragility on a mental aspect with any of the players I go out and play with.
We know exactly what we can do. We are fully confident in that. There needs to be an ability within all of us that we can do these things for 80 minutes, but we are definitely not in a position where we are doubting our abilities.
"
We have shown the flaws that we need to fix in order to go on, so in terms of fixtures, it's been disappointing but it's not been a failure in terms of the growth of the squad.
Vern Cotter's team appeared to be trending in the right direction coming into the tournament, but a lack of experience and discipline was highlighted by Europe's top nations.
The likes of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia will make for a very strong field at this year's World Cup, and with the Scots not even able to beat Italy in this year's Six Nations, you have to fear for their chances this summer.
That said, the top four finishers in this year's Six Nations all made a fantastic impression, and Ireland's disciplined approach once again led to the title. Schmidt's men have now gone back-to-back, powered by a fantastic kicking game, and while the All Blacks and Springboks still look like they're a class above the rest, the Irish will like their chances at the World Cup.
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