Vern Cotter described Scotland’s thrilling win against Ireland as the best of his tenure after his side claimed only their second victory on the opening weekend of the Six Nations Championship.
Two late penalties from Greig Laidlaw sealed Scotland’s victory after Ireland had fought back from 21-8 down at half-time to lead by a point. At that stage they had been facing another gut-wrenching defeat, having been edged out by Australia again in the autumn, but they will now travel to Paris next Sunday with high hopes of a first win in Paris since 1999, when Scotland went on to clinch the last Five Nations title.
Cotter (pictured) had moved to temper expectations in the week and suggested that he would be happy with two victories for the tournament. That message has not changed but the New Zealander, despite two wins against Argentina and a first Scotland victory against France in a decade since taking over in June 2014, acknowledged the size of this scalp.
“I think it would have to be [the best],” he said. “I’m really happy for the players for the work they put in during the week. It changes the dynamic if you start the Six Nations with a win, everybody talks about it but the feet will be on the ground on Monday morning.
“Credit to Greig and the boys, they got it back in the last 10 minutes and got the win. It’s a great win. We were pretty physical at the breakdown and that’s important when you play them. And we came up with some pretty good plays to get over the line.”
Laidlaw, meanwhile, believes Scotland have now turned the corner after earning a reputation as gallant losers. He said: “We know how to build pressure, get field position and that’s why we won today. We lost it a bit in third quarter and so to grab it back is very pleasing.”
Ireland take credit for mounting a ferocious second-half fightback but Joe Schmidt, who refused to use a late arrival at the stadium as an excuse for his side’s slow start, believes they are still capable of reclaiming the title they won in 2014 and 2015. “There were three crucial line breaks in the second half that would have given us a little more breathing space,” he said.
“We needed to score at least once more. It’s pretty tough to take. It’s far from ideal but it was always a potential reality. We know we’re not out of it and we did pick up that [losing] bonus point.”
