Sports Editor Oisin Gaffey reports from The Aviva Stadium as Ireland edge Scotland 17-13 to win a second consecutive Six Nations title for just the third time in history
Ireland are back-to-back Six Nations Champions for only the third time in history, as they beat Scotland 17-13 in the Aviva Stadium this evening to claim the 2024 title. It was not a classic Irish performance, but they won’t care, as they hoisted the Six Nations trophy high into the sky to a chorus of ‘Free from Desire’ for the second year in a row.
“Ireland are back-to-back Six Nations Champions for only the third time in history, as they beat Scotland 17-13 in the Aviva Stadium this evening to claim the 2024 title.”
Following last week’s surprise loss to England, Ireland was desperate to get back to winning ways as soon as possible and scraped past Scotland to do so, in the process recording their 19th straight win in Dublin. It’s safe to say that Scotland offered very little in this game, but their defence was ferocious at times to limit Ireland’s usually free-flowing attacking structure.
Ireland finished this year’s tournament with 20 points, meanwhile, Scotland brought a poor Six Nations to a close, picking up just two wins from a possible 5, as they ended up in third spot this year.
The game got off to a nervy start as both sides took time to settle into their rhythm, with both scrum-halves opting to put boot to ball on numerous occasions, engaging in a rather dull box-kicking contest to start the game. After a highly emotional rendition of ‘Ireland’s Call’ before kick-off, this was a disappointing start to the match.
It was a very stop-start opening seven minutes from both sides, but it was the visitors who got onto the scoresheet first after Ireland’s James Lowe gave away a penalty inside his half for double movement on the ground. Co-Captain Finn Russell stepped up to take the kick and continued his perfect record from the tee in this Six Nations as he put his side three points up.
“With the clock in the red, Conor Murray set the ball back to James Lowe, the winger hoofing it into Row Z to draw the game and championship to an end!”
Ireland responded well to the early setback and looked to play the territory game, pinning their Scottish opponents inside their own ‘22. Ireland’s efforts were rewarded as they were awarded a penalty in the 10th minute. Munster’s Jack Crowley turned down the option of three points with a kick to the corner, much to the excitement of the home fans. The resulting lineout didn’t go according to plan, however, as a trick play for Dan Sheehan down the right wing ended in the hooker being bundled into touch.
The following Scotland lineout similarly went awry. This blunder would prove costly for the visitors. An overthrow from Scottish hooker George Turner saw the ball land neatly into the hands of the aforementioned Sheehan, who then had an easy procession to the line from three metres to cross the whitewash and give Ireland the lead. A Jack Crowley conversion would extend Ireland’s lead to four points with 13 minutes on the clock.
Scotland fired back within three minutes after Josh van der Flier wandered into an offside position. Perfectly in line with the posts, Russell again opted for the shot at goal, easily converting to cut Ireland’s lead to just one point.
As the half drew to a close, Ireland started to get into their flow and play some nice rugby. They were rewarded for their efforts as they were awarded a penalty close to the halfway line, with Crowley opting to kick for points. The novice fly-half made a poor connection with the ball from the tee and his kick dragged wide to the left, Ireland unable to extend their advantage.
“As the half drew to a close, Ireland started to get into their flow and play some nice rugby.”
Positive play with the clock in the red came to an unfortunate conclusion as an optimistic offload from Caelan Doris towards Tadhg Furlong on the wing (yes, the wing!) went askew and flew into the face of the touch-judge, bringing a rather dull first half of rugby to a close.
The opening minutes of the second half could not have been more different than the previous forty, as Ireland looked invigorated by the 15-minute break and looked to settle into their stride right at the start of the half.
Ireland were awarded a penalty just two minutes into the half as Scotland strayed offside. Jack Crowley stepped up to kick an easy three points, and Ireland extended their lead to four points. An omen for how the rest of this game would go for Scotland, Finn Russell’s resulting kick-off went out on the full, gifting Ireland possession on the halfway line.
The next twenty minutes belonged to Ireland, as they dominated Scotland across the park. Scotland conceded more than five penalties during this time, giving the home side a perfect field position. For all this territory and possession, Ireland struggled to turn it into points on the scoreboard.
It looked as if Ireland had scored off the back of a tap-and-go set play as Tadhg Furlong crossed the whitewash. However, after a lengthy TMO review, conducted by South African official Marius Jonker, the veteran prop was deemed to have lost control of the ball whilst attempting to place it on the line and a knock-on was the call given by Matthew Carley, much to the frustration of the Irish home crowd. It looked for all-intensive purposes as if Furlong had scored, but it was chalked off by the referee.
Scotland were able to relieve the pressure after Ireland conceded a penalty from the following scrum. Russell put a boot to the ball and cleared up to the halfway line. A knock-on from Ireland on their half-way line gave Scotland a scrum fifty metres further up the field than they found themselves just minutes prior.
After overcoming this setback and driving into the Scottish half Ireland looked as if they were about to score again, as the penalties began to mount up for Scotland. With an overlap on the left-hand side, Jamison Gibson-Park’s pass to Gary Ringrose was dropped and Scotland was awarded a scrum to the backdrop of groans from the Irish fans in the Aviva Stadium.
Frustrations rose again minutes later as Ireland and Robbie Henshaw were held up over the line by a brilliant covering tackle from Cameron Redpath to deny Ireland yet another score. By the 59th minute, Ireland could have scored three tries and put this game to bed, but their execution and ball-handling skills were lacking this afternoon.
Scotland’s Ewan Ashman was rightfully shown a yellow card in the 64th minute after he gave away a series of penalties consecutively on the Scottish try line. Ireland made quick work of the man advantage and decided to run a tap-and-go set play just metres out from the try line. A brilliantly worked sequence saw Ronan Kelleher pull the ball back for Andrew Porter, who powered over the try line to score at the third time of asking for Ireland. Jack Crowley’s conversion brought Ireland to 17 points for the afternoon, but they were hungry for more.
“A brilliantly worked sequence saw Ronan Kelleher pull the ball back for Andrew Porter, who powered over the try line to score at the third time of asking for Ireland.”
Minutes later, Ireland was awarded yet another penalty and kicked for the corner. Ireland looked to be on a rampage and stretch their lead, but were undone by a resilient Scottish line-out maul defence and the ball was held up to give Scotland another reprieve.
With nothing to lose, the Scots finally clicked into gear and started to throw some serious problems Ireland’s way. After Harry Byrne was shown a yellow card for head contact against Finn Russell, they held a man advantage for the final five minutes. They made this excess count within minutes, as centre Huw Jones ran an excellent line to break through the Irish defence and score under the posts. Russell quickly converted, and the game was now separated by just four points.
It was a nervy final few minutes for Ireland, who let out cheers of relief moments later as Scotland knocked the ball on to allow Ireland a scrum put-in. Ireland set about keeping the ball for the final two minutes of the game, the pack marching around the field to secure their ball.
With the clock in the red, Conor Murray set the ball back to James Lowe, the winger hoofing it into Row Z to draw the game and championship to an end!
Ireland were far from their best this evening, but they got the job done and became only the third Irish team in history to win back-to-back Six Nations Championships.
Questions remain over the makeup of this Irish team going forward, as rumours have started to swirl about the retirement of Irish captain Peter O’Mahony. When asked if this would be his last game for Ireland, the Munster man said, “We’ll see”. “I need to go and talk to my wife and family and think about it,” he said, delaying any decision until at least next week. The contemplation was written on the captain’s face, as it is clear the endgame is soon for an Irish Rugby legend. He closes by saying, “If it was my last one, it’s not such a bad last one.”
“When asked if this will be his last game for Ireland, the Munster-man said, “we’ll see”
For now, though, O’Mahony, Farrell and the rest of this Irish side can enjoy celebrating a successful Six Nations campaign. There is no doubt that the players and coaches will party hard tonight and presumably the rest of this Paddy’s Day weekend. With that, the 2024 Six Nations comes to a close.
“If it was my last one, it’s not such a bad last one.”
Team Lineups:
Ireland: Jordan Larmour, Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe, Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony (C), Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris
Substitutes: Ronan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Finlay Bealham, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan; Conor Murray, Harry Byrne, Gary Ringrose
Scotland: Blair Kinghorn, Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, Stafford McDowall, Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell (CC), Ben White; Pierre Schoeman, George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Scott Cummings, Andy Christie, Rory Darge (CC), Jack Dempsey
Substitutes: Ewan Ashman, Rory Sutherlaand, Javan Sebastian, Sam Skinner, Matt Fagerson; George Horne, Cameron Redpath, Kyle Rowe
Referee: Matthew Carley
1st Assistant: Karl Dickson
2nd Assistant: Christophe Ridley
2TMO: Marius Jonker