Ireland vs. Scotland: Score and Reaction from 2016 Six Nations Round 5

Ireland ended their 2016 RBS Six Nations campaign with a flourish on Saturday after claiming a 35-25 win over Scotland at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

Dublin was treated to a seven-try showcase as CJ Stander, Keith Earls, Conor Murray and Devin Toner crossed the whitewash for Ireland, while Stuart Hogg, Richie Gray and Alex Dunbar went over for Scotland.

Yellow cards were shown to Scotland duo John Barclay and Dunbar either side of the half-time whistle, and those advantages spun in Ireland's favour, as they made their opponents pay for their lack of discipline.

JOE.ie celebrated what proved to be a surprisingly frosty affair at the Aviva Stadium after a string of fights broke out between the two teams:

The Dublin duel always looked likely to be a tense and tight collision, and fans got exactly that as kickers Jonathan Sexton and Greig Laidlaw took on the roles of chief points-scorers early on.

It was the Irish No. 10 who landed the first blows, as Sexton nudged Ireland into a 6-0 lead, and a flurry of penalties saw Scotland captain Laidlaw respond as the scoreline read 9-3 in the hosts' favour after 17 minutes.

Ireland's slight lead would hardly suffice, though, and a team that put nine tries past Italy in Week 4 was now under pressure to recall that same strain of imagination against far tougher opposition.

But it was Scotland who landed the first try of the afternoon when a dummy in midfield from full-back Hogg saw him scythe his way to the line, as shown by the official Six Nations YouTube account:

That score gave Scotland a 10-9 advantage, which would ultimately prove to be their only lead of the clash, and it lasted all of seven minutes. Flanker Barclay was sent to the bin for entering a ruck from the side in the 24th minute, and Ireland capitalised, to say the least.

Stander has embraced his international allegiances since debuting for adopted nation Ireland in this Six Nations, and he leaped over a ruck to dot down following phase after phase of Irish pressure.

The Irish Independent's Cian Tracey outlined his importance to Joe Schmidt's team:

But Scotland's punishment didn't stop there, and Earls heaped further woe on the 14 men after Hogg and winger Tommy Seymour got their wires crossed and gifted Ireland's speedster an easy try to help give Ireland a 21-13 lead at the break.

Rugby writer Ruaidhri O'Connor outlined this as a particularly pleasing performance from an Irish perspective, with the wind in their sails heading in at the half-time interval:

Scrum-half star Murray gave the Irish a bright start to the second period after adding his third try of the tournament in the 47th minute, with the probing boot of Sexton proving problematic for the visitors.

Scotland refused to shy away, though, and second-rower Gray showed all the midfield nous of a centre to float in under Ireland's post for a 55th-minute try in response, pulling the score back to 28-20.

ESPN Scrum's Robert Bartlett praised the high-risk but potentially high-reward method Vern Cotter's side employed:

Scotland centre Dunbar was arguably fortunate to avoid a red card after somersaulting Sexton over his head in a ruck clear-out before being shown a yellow in the 66th minute. It didn't take long for Ireland lock Toner to once again make that one-man advantage count, scoring his first Test try a mere minute after Dunbar made way.

A series of brawls broke out in the final 10 minutes as frustrations boiled over, and Ireland were also reduced to 14 men for the final few minutes when Sexton was himself pulled up for entering at the side.

Dunbar restored Scotland to full strength and dotted down seconds after returning to play, but Laidlaw couldn't add the extras, and that proved to be the full extent of the visitors' comeback attempt.

Ireland will savour the third-place finish that will be theirs if Six Nations champions England defeat France as expected later on Saturday, with all eyes now turning to the Stade de France for a climactic close to proceedings.