What do you know? Scotland played some good rugby, entertained, led three times... and lost. They don’t look like the world’s 12th-ranked team, but they certainly have their results of late.
Ireland on the other hand will be pleased enough. They looked rusty in places, although Conan, Zebo and Bowe impressed greatly, but they had enough about them to secure the win.
It was a scrappy game, with lots of mistakes on both sides. Ultimately you’d say Ireland’s proved less costly, with Scotland again too naive to take advantage of all their opportunities. Both sides will get better though.
The match report might be around soon enough, so keep an eye open for that. Do join me again in 10 minutes or so though, for England v France. Thanks for reading, bye!
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Full-time: Ireland 28-22 Scotland
Scotland get the penalty from the scrum, just outside the Ireland 22 on the left. The referee indicates they have time to kick to touch, so they do and we get the one more play. Scotland win the lineout, just and it’s a mess as Ireland look to disrupt again. Advantage Scotland as Harley carries it up. Left it goes to Blake, but he knocks on in the tackle and that’s that!
79 min It looks like it’s just cramp for man-of-the-match Zebo. The maul comes to nothing as the ball goes to ground. We’ll have just the one more play, I imagine.
78 min Scotland get a penalty for hands in the ruck and Tonks sticks it into touch, albeit getting no great ground. They maul, slowly, up to the 22 as Zebo hobbles off the pitch.
77 min Nothing really happens. “As Schmidt said during the week,” points out Evan Colbert, “when PO’C is on the pitch, he’s the captain.”
76 min Scotland regather it from the drop out and spread play wide, from wing to wing. They;re making ground, but not really stretching Ireland. Still, as long as they have the ball...
75 min Ah but he blazes it wide! That’s a poor miss.
74 min This time they’re going for goal though. Madigan will kick from the 22, around 15m in from the right.
74 min Scotland collapse the maul and that’s a penalty. I’d have been tempted to give a penalty try for that, it was so cynical and the try so inevitable.
73 min Paul O’Connell, who isn’t the captain, instructs his fly-half to stick it in the corner. No sign of what Sean O’Brien thought of that. O’Connell calls the lineout too, to himself and here comes that driving maul.
72 min Scotland allow it to go loose in midfield and Strauss hacks through. Blake gathers it up, but a few phases later O’Brien smashes into Horne, Ford goes off his feet and that’s a penalty on the Scottish 10m line.
Conversion (Madigan) Ireland 28-22 Scotland
The second fly-half spot is done and dusted, isn’t it?
Try! (Fitzgerald 69) Ireland 26-22 Scotland
Yes you’ve read that right, Luke Fitzgerald has scored an actual try! A lovely cross kick from Madigan, Fitzgerald times his run perfectly and doesn’t even have to break stride to collect it on the wing. Over he goes, running round to just left of the posts.
Updated
68 min Madigan takes it deep and carries up to the line before flinging a good wide pass out to Fitzgerald. The ball is recycled, but it’s all gone static very quickly and Ireland are being driven back.
67 min Scotland have a scrum about 12 metres inside their own half. They look to run it, but Lamont’s pass to Matt Scott goes forward. Matt Scott is on.
66 min You know if there was anything riding on this match it’d be a thriller. Hidalgo-Clyne comes on for Pyrgos, Jordi Murphy comes on for Conan. And Reddan replaces Boss.
Conversion (Jackson) Ireland 21-22 Scotland
Horne, knackered, leaves the kicking duties to Jackson.
Try! (Horne 64) Ireland 21-20 Scotland
Fitzgerald misses touch and Blake takes it. Two more passes and Lamont sets the defence with his run, before popping it inside for Horne to go over from 30 metres on the right of the posts!
Updated
63 min Now Tonks goes through a gap. He doesn’t have the pace to make it though and, sadly, sends his pass behind the support runner. Oh wait but...
Conversion (Madigan) Ireland 21-15 Scotland
That was easy.
Try! (Zebo 61) Ireland 19-15
Loads of changes. Kilcoyne is off, with Bent presumably replacing him. I think I saw Dave Kearney come on too, and Richardt Strauss. Yes I did see Kearney on as he comes into midfield and takes an inside ball from Madigan before slicing through from 35m. We go through one more phase and Madigan steps then pops another inside ball to Zebo, who runs the perfect support line and canters over.
Updated
Penalty (Horne 60) Ireland 14-15 Scotland
About 30m out and just a few to the right, that’s easy as they come for the the left-footed kicker.
59 min Lost forward and Fitzgerald runs it out of his 22. Tonks makes the tackle, Fitzgerald doesn’t let go and thus hands possession straight back as he concedes the penalty.
58 min Cowan and Hamilton off, Barclay and Harley on in their stead. On the field, Horne gets a quick pass out to Lamont on the right and he spins out of one tackle and carries it up. Scotland around 25m out now.
57 min Irish tails are up now. Kilcoyne with another barracking run and it’s shipped left very quickly. Zebo tries to offload left, but it bobbles past the feet of Fitzgerald.
56 min Dan Tuohy’s departure brings the biggest cheer of the day. Man these Irish fans must be glad to see the back of him. Some bloke called O’Connell is on. This must be nice for him.
Conversion (Madigan 56) Ireland 14-12 Scotland
Madigan squeezes it inside the far post easily enough. Ireland go back in front.
Try! (Cronin 54) Ireland 12-12 Scotland
Madigan sticks it in the left-hand corner. Nathan White is on for his debut at 33 in place of Mike Ross. Here, Tuohy takes the lineout and here comes the drive... and Cronin dives gleefully over from the back of the juggernaut of a maul.
53 min A lovely offload from Kilcoyne to Henry sends the flanker surging into the Scotland half from midfield. No sooner is he stopped than Kilcoyne himself goes on a burst and suddenly Scotland are reeling backwards with Ireland in their 22. They recycle, there’s a deliberate knock on and it’s a penalty.
52 min Substitute! Me for him. Subsitute! My coke for gin. Substitute! Ross Ford for Fraser Brown.
51 min Still Scotland in possession with Vernon heavily involved, but Ireland’s defence is doing a good job of disrupting them. Pyrgos eventually chips off the outside of his boot over the top and into the in-goal area, but Conan is back to dot it down for the 22 drop-out.
50 min Back come Scotland with Visser coming off his wing and looking for gaps. There aren’t many, but they have crabbed their way up to the 22 in nine phases.
49 min Tonks shifts it right to Jackson, who grubbers it through from 35m out. It sits up for Vernon nicely and he gathers, but his offload goes behind the full back and Ireland hack it away.
48 min Ireland win lineout ball but Scotland and Cowan turn them over. Left it goes and Visser makes a break down the wing! It’s recycled and shifted right, but play has slowed right down thanks to some less-than-sharp handling.
47 min Another change in the front row, of sorts, as Jon Welsh goes off for a head injury assessment. Mike Cusack is on for his Scotland debut and he’ll begin with a scrum inside his own 22, in front of the sticks. Or not, as Kilcoyne concedes a free kick for engaging early. Not a good day for the Munster prop.
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46 min Zebo takes the high kick and it goes right, D’Arcy shipping it on to Bowe who surges into the 22 down the right. It’s worked back inside via Madigan to Kilcoyne, but he fumbles. Ireland retain possession for a few moments, but then O’Brien knocks on.
45 min Madigan restarts to Cowan as Grant leaves the field sat up on one of those motorised stretcher things they have now. Not a good sign, that.
Christ.
LIVE on #Periscope: Vernon Kay with Joe Launchbury in the Blueroom. https://t.co/8uW2eauRGj
— O2 Sports (@O2sports) August 15, 2015
45 min Ryan Grant is down and receiving some treatment. In fact he’s going off to be replaced by Gordon Reid.
Try! (Pyrgos 44) Ireland 7-12 Scotland
Scotland win the lineout and they have advantage. They might not need it as Tuohy misses a tackle. Grant rumbles up to the line, it goes left and the captain snipes round the prop Ross and stretches to the line! Horne drags his conversion across the face of the posts.
43 min Visser takes the catch from Boss’s box kick, right on the touchline. He wriggles clear of O’Brien and offloads to Vernon, who grubbers through. It’s all very scrappy and eventually Zebo slides it into touch just eight metres from his own line.
42 min Henry takes his eye off the ball and knocks on in contact with Denton back behind his own 10m line. Not the best minute that, from Ireland, but now they’ve managed to win a turnover. Payne carves up the defence and takes it back up to, er, his own 10m line.
41 min Madigan gets things back underway and Lamont takes just outside his 22. Pyrgos boxes clear and Zebo gathers. Ireland with it on the halfway line.
So a Guardian Sports desk football predictions sweepstake win means I’m £6 up for the day. I’ll stick around rather than retire on the spot, I guess, but I might need to get in touch with Martin Pengelly’s financial advisor.
Also the players are coming back out, but I think we know what the big story here is.
So a scrappy first half, as you’d expect at this stage of the not-season. Scotland finished strongly and Ireland will be very glad of a mighty defensive shift in that half from their cap’n Sean O’Brien.
I’ll be back in a few, so read this excellent piece in the Irish Times on Irish rugby players who lost their lives at Gallipoli.
Half-time: Ireland 7-7 Scotland
40 min From the lineout that ensued from the penalty, Ireland get quick ball left and Fitzgerald chips it ahead. Visser comes across and covers well though. He clears to touch and the lineout comes to nothing much. The ball goes dead and that’s half-time.
39 min Missed tackle after missed tackle for Ireland, but Sean O’Brien can do the work of an entire team himself. Again he makes the tackle, stopping Jon Welsh, and again he got the perfect body position over the ball. Penalty Ireland.
38 min Back come Scotland and Gilchrist barrels through Kilcoyne in midfield. That’s twice the Irish props have missed out in the tackle and Scotland are on the front foot and into the 22.
37 min Horne opts to go for the sticks from around 40m, out to the right by about 10 metres. He hooks it to the left, though it had the legs, as they say.
36 min Scotland are again getting over the gainline at will and they get a penalty on the 10m line when Kilcoyne goes off his feet.
35 min Another good penalty from hand by Madigan finds touch about 20 metres from the line, on the left. Tuohy takes it and Henry shifts right off the back of the maul, quickly, but then Fitzgerald knocks on and Scotland go sprinting up into the Irish half.
34 min But penalty Ireland! Scotland collapsing it under pressure again.
33 min Madigan’s restart is a pile of steaming malodorous stuff and fails to make the 10m. Scrum Scotland on halfway.
Conversion (Horne) Ireland 7-7 Scotland
A brilliant conversion from the touchline and we’re all level.
Try! (Cowan 31) Ireland 7-5 Scotland
They’re on the front foot now Scotland and Denton smashes straight through Ross. It goes right again, Jackson gives it to Vernon and the centre offloads out the final tackle perfectly for Cowan to go over in the right-hand corner!
Updated
30 min From a 30 metre lineout, it’s Scotland’s turn to batter away at the line. Pyrgos delays his pass but it’s too telegraphed and he’s wrapped up, but Scotland retain the ball.
29 min Ireland win the lineout, as it went into touch of a Scottish boot, but then get penalised for crossing.
28 min High ball from Madigan and Bowe chases perfectly, gathering it in under little pressure. Back inside it comes, then a couple of times back and forth along the line. On the right, Bowe tries to go round the outside shoulder and grubbers a kick through when he realises he doesn’t have the pace, but it bobbles into touch.
27 min What a scrum from Ireland. Scotland’s pack goes stumbling backwards and, though it comes out for Denton, he’s harried brilliantly by Boss and loses it forward in the tackle. Another scrum.
25 min Tonks hangs up a high one for Visser, but Zebo is excellent under the high ball under pressure – a really good take. Left it goes, Conan barges into the defence but then it’s fumbled again. Pre-season rustiness is showing here.
24 min After a moment for Cowan to receive treatment, the penalty is cleared up to 5m inside the Scotland half.
23 min Through the phases now off the lineout and Zebo half jinks through a gap. He’s clearly targeting Vernon here – the former number eight has looked a bit flat footed. More phases, but Cronin is done for holding on under the sticks.
22 min A really good kick from Madigan who, with little angle to work with, finds touch deep inside the 22. The touch judge is less than generous though and signals it 15m out.
21 min This time it’s Scotland who get penalised at the scrum, for collapsing the thing.
20 min This isn’t great. Brown’s throw is overdone and Cronin looks to take the overthrow. He knocks it forward, but we’ll go back as the throw wasn’t straight in the first place. Neither hooker covering themselves in glory there.
19 min Some patient phase play, but then they go wide and Fitzgerald is isolated. He’s wrapped up by Lamont and Horne and the latter wins the penalty.
18 min Madigan kicks to touch on the right this time and Ireland have another platform five metres inside the 22.
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17 min Fitzgerald takes the restart, but this time Denton fields Boss’s box kick comfortably. Nonetheless, after they ship it left O’Brien gets over the top of Peter Horne and seals it off, winning the penalty.
Conversion (Madigan) Ireland 7-0 Scotland
It’s about 10 metres in from touch and curved sweetly through the sticks.
Try! (Henry 15) Ireland 5-0 Scotland
Back left they come and the Scottish defence is far too brittle to withstand this. Henry is the man to eventually make the final couple of metres’ gain.
Updated
14 min Ireland win the lineout and rumble through the phases, up to within seven metres or so. Right it goes and the ball carriers continue to go through the gainline...
13 min The Scots go left but Ireland’s defence is watertight. Great work from Conan and O’Brien (HA!) on the floor as he gets over it and seals the ball off. Scotland can do naught but concede the penalty, which Madigan kicks deep into Scottish territory on the left.
12 min Quick ball off the scrum and Zebo shows his pace, hitting the line and stepping outside Vernon with ease. Lamont comes in and makes a good tackle to drag Zebo down, then Toner knocks on when they recycle it back inside. Scrum on the Irish 10m line.
10 min So it’s a Scotland lineout around 30m from the Irish line, on the left. Gilchrist wins the lineout, but then throws it straight down into the back of Cowan at the back of the maul.
9 min It’s a mess of a scrum and that’s a penalty to Scotland. Kilcoyne driving on the angle, reckons Gauzere.
8 min Scotland win the lineout, send it along the line and Ireland knock it on when dislodging the ball from Vernon’s grasp.
7 min Better from Ireland at the lineout as Toner takes it in. Left along the line they go on halfway, but then Zebo and Fitzgerald mess up the whole communication thing and the former flings his pass in front of the latter and into touch.
6 min It’s a poor throw from Cronin and Scotland get the ball. They crash it up to the 22 and ship it left, but may rue not kicking it as Ireland are slowing it down and disrupting them well at the breakdown. Eventually Pyrgos gets the clearance away, but after no little faffing.
5 min Scotland just about stay up and get the ball away. Vernon crashes it up from 13, but Scotland go off their feet and it’s a penalty to Ireland, just inside the Scotland half. Madigan kicks up to the 22 on the left.
4 min Oh that’s right, everyone doesn’t like scrums. Except Brian Moore, he bloody loves the things. For some reason. At this one, Ireland demolish the Scottish front row but the ref inexplicably calls for a reset.
3 min A bit of back and forth kicking, then Ireland fumble it on the floor. Time for the first scrum of the day on the Scots’ 10m line and who doesn’t love scrums?
2 min After a quick tap and go, Madigan hangs a high cross-field kick for Bowe to take, but the wing can’t quite get there and the Scotland captain Pyrgos box kicks down the line from his own 10m line.
Peeeep! Pascal Gauzere (he’s the referee) blows his whistle and Scotland get us underway. Actually it was fairly obvious he was the ref, wasn’t it? Anyway, it’s gathered in the 22 by Zebo and Boss box kicks clear. Ireland reclaim possession on their own 10m line, which isn’t really what Scotland wanted from that start I imagine. The first penalty is given to Ireland for not releasing the ball carrier.
The anthems are nearly done. We might even get this one started on time, which seems to be increasingly rare in international rugby these days.
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Confidence:
@DanLucas86 Walk in the park 4 Ireland 2 much of everything everywhere 4 Scotland, may be sloppy at times but Ireland 2 win by 15+!
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) August 15, 2015
Out come the players. It’s a pretty patchy and quiet crowd for Dublin, I have to admit.
An update from Martin.
Yes, @DanLucas86, am both Yorkshire & vastly remunerated* for work in NYC. (*actual remuneration may not be vast or involve actual money.)
— Martin Pengelly (@MartinPengelly) August 15, 2015
Away from the rugby, this is my second favourite thing on YouTube.
Back with the rugby. There’s a big opportunity for Ireland’s flankers today, what with Tommy O’Donnell having been ruled out of the World Cup after dislocating a hip against Wales last Saturday. It’s a real shame for O’Donnell, who impressed so, so much last season.
Cocktail bar, cocktail bar... Sorry, it’s stuck in my head now.
The thoughts of my American* colleague:
Things @DanLucas86 should know: Jack Conan is my financial adviser's cousin, and Spectre is better with Sir Roger… http://t.co/WPCOI6x2C2
— Martin Pengelly (@MartinPengelly) August 15, 2015
Guardian journalist has a financial advisor? They must pay more in the American office.
*I’m pretty sure Martin is actually from Yorkshire, but he’s over in New York now.
Told you that playing a seven at eight was a good idea. Look what happened when Australia changed their minds on that one.
Let the #BANTZ begin...
Scottish captain Henry Pyrgos forced to apply heavy bandaging immediately after firm Sean O'Brien handshake #IREvSCO pic.twitter.com/mAC9vgULNM
— JOE.ie (@JOEdotie) August 15, 2015
Right, enough #BANTZ.
So how is this one going to go, folks? Although Scotland’s XV is closer to the first choice than Ireland’s, I still don’t hold out any much hope for them. Ireland’s strength is that the second string isn’t much worse than the first and the ability of their squad players to slot in seamlessly is part of the reason they’ve been so successful over the last two years. Scotland on the other hand play nicely but don’t seem to have figured out how to win and there is very little to suggest that they will do so this evening.
But then, as Radiohead said, I might be wrong. Ian Madigan, for all his virtues, is no Jonny Sexton and there’s no Conor Murray tonight either. Paul O’Connell is only on the bench, so the go-to tactic of the half-backs kicking and the forwards dominating the set piece might need rethinking. Sean O’Brien is out of position, Jack Conan is on debut and Chris Henry has done remarkably to come back from heart surgery in just December. Even if this match turns out to be a pile of crap, it’s good to see him back in an Ireland shirt.
Preamble
Evening folks. Well this is a rare old treat, isn’t it? World Cup year means a (very loose) sort of pseudo summer Six Nations. Hard, flat ground, a crowd that’s been apeing Pavement and drinking in the August sun and the prize that’s on offer: Six Nations come and go, but there are a lot of rugby players who will never get to play in what is expected to be the biggest World Cup ever.
Never before have Ireland gone past the quarter-finals in a World Cup. 2007 was the nadir, when their highly fancied, highly talented side didn’t even make it out of the group, but other than that it’s been a solid record of quarter-final eliminations (or quarter-final play-offs, in 1999, when the format was quite frankly stupid). No, Ireland are not the biggest rugby nation, but this is still disappointing.
This lot, though, should be their best ever at a World Cup. Win their pool over France and there’s every chance they’ll end up battling it out with England for a spot in the final. As the reigning Six Nations champions and the No2 side in the IRB world rankings, there’s a genuine belief among the Ireland camp that they can do this.
Ireland began their preparations last week, when their largely second-string side blew away Wales’ definitely second-string side. Plenty of players impressed in that match, but few will get a second chance to do so as Joe Schmidt has made 14 changes to his starting line-up. There’s a debut for Leinster’s Jack Conan and, perhaps inspired by David Pocock’s performance in Australia’s win over New Zealand last week, Sean O’Brien captains the side from eight. Looking at the two sides, I would expect them to win and win well once again. Which would make life very rosy for them indeed.
Scotland on the other hand have disappointed a lot of people. Vern Cotter came in and blew away the horrible memories of the Scott Johnson days. He got Scotland playing exciting, fast, open rugby. He created a young, likeable team that the fans and the neutrals could get behind. Only they kept getting beat. Bottom of the pile in the Six Nations, with the low coming when they lost to a hitherto atrocious Italy, many doubt that they’re going to get past Samoa and out of Pool B in the World Cup.
But summer conditions will suit them. They can play their natural game and, with few people expecting them to do a whole lot here, maybe they can surprise Ireland. Richie Vernon, the ex-Scotland No8, makes a second debut of sorts as the new Scotland No13. I’ll be honest, I’ve not seen him play in his new position, but it’s certainly an interesting move this one. There’s also a debut for Hugh Blake, who was named in the squad even before he had made an appearance for Edinburgh and just weeks after he had moved from New Zealand, at seven.
Kick-off is at 5pm BST. The following people will be playing:
Ireland: 15 Simon Zebo; 14 Luke Fitzgerald, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Isaac Boss, 1 David Kilcoyne, 2 Sean Cronin, 3 Mike Ross, 4 Dan Tuohy, 5 Devin Toner, 6 Jack Conan, 7 Chris Henry, 8 Sean O’Brien.
Replacements: 16 Richard Strauss, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Nathan White, 19 Paul O’Connell, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Dave Kearney.
Scotland: 15 Ruaridh Jackson; 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Richie Vernon, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tim Visser; 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Henry Pyrgos (c), 1 Ryan Grant, 2 Fraser Brown, 3 Jon Welsh, 4 Jim Hamilton, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Blair Cowan 7 Hugh Blake, 8 David Denton.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Mike Cusack, 19 Rob Harley, 20 John Barclay, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Matt Scott.
