EDINBURGH, Scotland — Ireland moved closer to achieving an unprecedented third consecutive Six Nations title after a dominant 32-18 victory over Scotland on Sunday. The match at Murrayfield was marred by a serious collision that saw two key Scottish players sidelined in the first half.
Having triumphed in their opening match against England, Ireland now leads the tournament standings with a perfect 10 points. They have already faced some of their most difficult opponents and will next travel to play against struggling Wales, with a final match in Italy on the horizon. Only France, who will visit Dublin in Round 4, seems poised to pose a threat to Ireland’s ambition of securing a third straight championship—a feat that has never been accomplished in the 142 years of the tournament’s history, which originally comprised the home unions of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland before France joined in 1910 and Italy in 2000.
Ireland established a commanding 17-5 lead by halftime, with tries from Calvin Nash and Caelan Doris. Unfortunately for Scotland, they lost winger Darcy Graham and star flyhalf Finn Russell after a head-to-head collision while trying to tackle Ireland scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park. Russell did not return after undergoing a Head Injury Assessment, while Graham was carted off the field as he too was replaced.
Scottish winger Duhan van der Merwe, who spent time in the sin-bin in the 14th minute, scored a spectacular try in the final play of the first half, followed by two penalties from Blair Kinghorn that narrowed the score to 17-11. However, Ireland retaliated with tries from winger James Lowe and substitute forward Jack Conan shortly before the hour mark, pulling away again.
Ireland’s flyhalf Sam Prendergast contributed greatly to the scoreline with three conversions and two penalties, accumulating a total of 12 points, while Ben White managed to score Scotland’s late second try.
Simon Easterby, acting as Ireland’s head coach during Andy Farrell’s sabbatical with the British and Irish Lions, noted that the team’s objective for the championship was to improve progressively and uphold high standards. “We’ve seen some of that today. There is an opportunity for a Grand Slam, which has been well documented. We’ve got to make sure that we prepare in the right way for Wales and go there with the same mindset that we came here with,” he remarked.
Gregor Townsend, the coach of Scotland, expressed hope that Russell would be available for their upcoming Round 3 match against England and was awaiting results from scans on Graham. “I believe there are no issues around his neck, but it’s more just seeing where the concussion has come from. I’m just hoping there are no broken bones around the face or skull area,” Townsend stated.
Regarding the match, Townsend acknowledged the challenges his team faced: “When you’re 17-0 down and things haven’t gone well for you, you do fear that the opposition could build on that, but I was really proud of the way we came back at the end of the first half.”
