Scotland vs Ireland result: Irish get back to winning ways to keep Six Nations title hopes alive
Re0live the action from Saturday's opening Six Nations match of the weekend as Ireland bounced back from their home defeat by England by beating Scotland 22-13 to keep their championship hopes alive.
Ireland ran in three tries to get their attacking spark back as first-half tries from Conor Murray and Jacob Stockdale were added to by a second-half score from Keith Earls, with replacement fly-half Joey Carbery adding his delightful touch to create the third score.
Scotland's response came just before the break from Sam Johnston, but they struggled to take their chances and slipped to a disappointing result on home soil. Re-live the live updates below.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Guinness Six Nations championship as we kick off the second round at Murrayfield as Scotland take on Ireland.
The two sides head into the match in differing circumstances, with Scotland hoping to build on last weekend's 33-20 victory over Italy while Ireland are looking to bounce back from a surprise defeat against England.
The match is scheduled to kick-off at 2:15pm, with our in-depth build-up getting underway from 1:00pm.
With an hour to go until kick-off, Murrayfield is slowly starting to fill up as the two sides arrive outside to raucous receptions - with the Scots marched in by their traditional bagpipers' welcome.
It's a brisk but sunny day in Edinburgh which should favour attacking philosophy employed by Scotland coach Gregor Townsend, although the Irish are no slouches with the ball in hand.
it should make for a spectacular match this afternoon.
Scotland: Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Sean Maitland; Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw; Aallan Dell, Stuart McInally, Simon Berghan; Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray; Ryan Wilson, Jamie Ritchie, Josh Strauss.
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, D’Arcy Rae, Ben Toolis, Rob Harley, Ali Price, Pete Horne, Blair Kinghorn.
Ireland: Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Peter O'Mahony, Sean O'Brien, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ulthan Dillane, Josh Van Der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour.
Referee: Romain Poite (France).
Assistant referees: Pascal Gauzere and Alexandre Ruiz (both France).
Stuart Hogg has emerged over the seven years since his debut as one of the most lethal finishers in the game, and with 12 Six Nations tries to his name, he has his country's all-time record in his sights in the form of Ian Smith's landmark of 24.
The all-time top try-scorer from any country is of course Brian O'Driscoll, whose 26 tries will take some beating.
Former Scotland full-back Chris Paterson has his say on the weather conditions, which have taken a slight turn for the worst with the weather picking up and sky clouding over. He's told the BBC:
It will move, more so on the East Stand side, and it won';t move one way, it''s move one way and then three-four metres the other because it's gusty in here. You have to strike it perfect, but it's easier said than done.
Yesterday the Under-20s got things off to a winning start for Ireland to continue their 100 per cent start as they defeated their Scottish counterparts 24-5, before the women's team got back to winning ways with a 22-5 victory over Scotland Women. Can the men's side bounce back as well to keep their championship hopes alive?
Lose today, and Ireland's title hopes will be almost certainly over.
The two sides emerge into the tunnel and are seconds away from running out onto the field to what will surely be a passionate reception. The magical Murrayfield afternoons are something to behold, and with the Six Nations trophy and Triple Crown on display, they emerge as fire shoots high into the sky.
When the bagpipes fall silent and Murrayfield comes to life, there's nothing quite like it.
It feels like a special day, and can Scotland back up on their potential by upsetting Ireland for what would be the second week running. We're about to find out.
The pitch is cleared of the flags, bands and everyone else bar the 30 starters and referee Romain Poite.
2 mins: It's a good start for Scotland. After a spot of aerial ping-pong from Laidlaw and Murray, Scotland look to get their attack up and running and after spreading left, Jones chips down the line that finds touch inside the Irish 22. Kearney will be a relieved man there, as had it stayed in field, there was a blue wall heading his way.
4 mins: Russell brings Hogg into the game for the first time on a deceptive inside line, but Ireland are aware of the threat and wrap him up immediately. They give him a spot of space second time around though and Hogg stretches his legs, breaking the line and reaching the 22. Wilson takes the ball on and is hit high by Sexton, and with the advantage Scotland attack.
The ball is whipped right, Russell to Johnston to Seymour, and he attempts to send in Strauss in the corner only for the pass to go forwards. We'll come back for the penalty though, and Scotland show their intent by going for the corner instead of the posts.
6 mins: Another penalty advantage as Aki goes over the top and disrupts the ball. This time Scotland try to chip in behind but Kearney cleans up well. Poite gives Aki a ticking off as the penalty is on the 5m line, but as it's in front of the posts this time Laidlaw will kick for goal.
8 mins: Scotland follow the restart with an immediate error as Jones considers leaving the ball for it to go straight out, only to change his mind, take his eye off the ball and knock it on. It gives Ireland a scrum on the 22 and an immediate chance to hit back.
11 mins: That's better from Ireland. They spread left with little working for them, but out of nothing they bag five points. Stockdale, against the touchline, chips ahead and the race is on. Seymour gets back first but his quick pass to Maitland is poor and the fumble allows Conor Murray to sneak in and score the try.
The bad news for Ireland is that Johnny Sexton is down and receiving treatment, and despite brushing himself off to take the conversion, he makes a mess of it as he hooks it left before limping back into the line. 3-5
15 mins: Scotland get away with one as Maitland tries to leave the ball into touch, only to deflect it off his torso. Neither the referee or his assistant spot it and Scotland get the lineout, only to then have the ball intercepted by Sexton as he reads Laidlaw's flat pass. He offloads to Farrel who kicks up-field, and Seymour is back in time to field it for the Scots before Laidlaw clears to touch.
Replacements: Cronin, Kilcoyne, Porter, Dillaner, Van der Flier, Cooney, Carbery, Larmour
Form guide…
Scotland: WLWLWW
Ireland: WWWWWL
Head-to-head…
Ireland 28 (Stockdale x2, Murray, Cronin) Scotland 8 (Kinghorn), Six Nations, March 2018
Scotland 27 (Hogg x2, Dunbar) Ireland 22 (Earls, Henderson, Jackson), Six Nations, February 2017
Ireland 35 (Stander, Earls, Murray, Toner) Scotland 25 (Hogg, Gray, Dunbar), Six Nations, March 2016
Odds…
Scotland to win: 9/4
Ireland to win: 4/9
Draw: 22/1
Prediction…
Ireland by 3: Scotland can cut any side to shreds on their day, but Ireland will need to produce a response after last week's result. They have not transformed into a bad side overnight, and although Scotland were impressive in patches against Italy, they will have to find a way to expose Ireland's restrictive defence.
