They are not yet champions, but Ireland is the greatest team in the world, and they have rarely appeared better. It is difficult to conceive of any team confronting the setbacks they did at Murrayfield – the home of one of the best teams in the world – and responding so emphatically, even without effort.
Quibblers will point out that a team eventually denied them the bonus point on their fourth attempt. James Ryan lost possession of the ball yards shy of the goal line, with James Lowe outside him, three minutes before the final whistle. Twenty points out of twenty would have been nearly excessive.
As it stands, they will return to Dublin the following weekend. Two points against England would guarantee them the championship and a grand slam victory.
The most impressive aspect of this decisive victory over Scotland was how they dealt with disruptions to their well-laid plans. Three forwards were injured in the opening period. The remainder of halftime was devoted to attempting to repair the shoulder of replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher. Andy Farrell declared, “The character was tremendous.”
“As far as fighting for each other goes, that was the best competition in which I’ve ever participated. If you had witnessed us at halftime, you would have laughed, as it was organized pandemonium. We had no idea what was happening with Ronan until the very last second.
A few minutes into the second half, Kelleher was forced to concede defeat. It turns out that playing without a hooker is no big issue. Then, in the final 10 minutes, Garry Ringrose was carried off on a stretcher after suffering a cerebral injury.
Scotland’s prospects for its first championship since 1999 have ended. Next weekend, they will host Italy, who are no longer considered a pushover. They will presumably finish in the top half if they prevail there. They seek more than that nowadays, but it cannot be denied that they are inferior to Ireland. Who is it?
This was a lesson in confidence and composure.
In the first half alone, Ireland endured more than enough disruptions to destabilize an inferior team. In the first quarter of an hour, Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, and Iain Henderson, in that order, left with injuries.
Even before their departure, there was high drama, with Sheehan scoring a try in the sixth minute after intercepting a Scotland throw. The lineout was declared quick after George Turner’s throw-in with a brand-new ball. The attempt was disallowed due to this questionable technicality. Scotland had expended a lifetime.
Johnny Sexton scored three points for Ireland via a straightforward penalty for offside this time. Scotland, however, would score on the first try. Duhan van der Merwe returned an Irish clearance and figured prominently in the subsequent phases of the attack. As so often in this championship, the decisive play was made by Huw Jones, who received an unanswerable pass from his center partner, Sione Tuipulotu.
It did not faze Ireland, nor did the loss of those vital forwards. Just before the half-hour mark, they initiated their own, virtually patent-protected interpretation of a comprehensive, multi-wave assault. With Scotland drawn in, Mack Hansen executed an athletic corner goal.
Before the half, Scotland had opportunities to overcome Ireland’s one-point advantage.
After a magnificent first half of Test rugby, they pressed and pressed to no avail, and it turns out that was the end of their race. Ireland still had reserves. The loss of their replacement hooker only inspired them to perform better.
Josh van der Flier assumed control of throw-ins. Scotland stole the first, but then he calmed down. Cian Healy was introduced as a hooker, and the addition of three forwards to the Ireland scrum simply increased its strength.
Just when it pains the most, the tries followed, devastating combinations on either side of the hour mark. Currently, Jamison Gibson-Park is Ireland’s first-choice scrum half. When he returned from his injury-induced absence, the tempo accelerated. Hansen claimed his up-and-under deep within Scotland’s 22. After successive phases of frenzied Irish attacks, Gibson-Park sent Lowe to the left.
Before Hansen sent Jack Conan over on the right, Sexton kicked the conversion and played his customary role in the next significant attack, with his loop bewitching the Scots. Sexton converted again, tying Ronan O’Gara for the most points scored in the annals of the championship.
Suddenly, Ireland had a 15-point advantage. They ought to have concluded with more. Ryan was freed by Lowe and Gibson-Park for a late attempt at the bonus point, but he was unable to complete the game-winning pass.
Thus, Ireland is not flawless. However, 19 out of 20 is close.
