Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Ireland win in cruise control

Losing to Ireland for the 11th consecutive time was always going to hurt, but the fact the Six Nations champions were able to turn Scotland over on their own patch without hitting anything like top gear was particularly galling.

"A six out of ten Ireland performance," said former Scotland hooker Fraser Brown on BBC Radio Scotland. Ireland great Ronan O'Gara said the 14-point victory felt more like a 40-point win, such was the Irish dominance.

The men in green took a firm grip from the off, winning the gain-line battle and forcing Scotland onto the backfoot.

Scotland were defending the try-line for their lives in the opening exchanges and a 17-0 lead after half an hour hardly flattered the visitors.

Eleven unanswered points either side of the break offered hope, but having ground their way back within six, a botched restart handed the initiative back to Ireland and they did not relinquish it.

There was a sense throughout that Ireland had more gears should they be required, and for a Scotland team trying to bridge the gap to the world's best, that is a tough pill to swallow.

Injury curse strikes again

Two weeks out from the Six Nations opener against Italy, Scotland's injury list seemed encouragingly small. How quickly things change.

The grievous blow of losing captain Sione Tuipulotu severely punctured the pre-tournament optimism, and the casualty list only grew with Max Williamson, Scott Cummings and Dylan Richardson all ruled out for the tournament and Kyle Steyn left in a race against time to play a part in the final two rounds.

The injury curse struck again in one cruel blow against Ireland when Finn Russell and Darcy Graham thumped into each other in a horrible collision that ended both players' involvement in the first half.

The sight of Graham, a man who has had wretched luck on the injury front, leaving the field on a stretcher was distressing. Fortunately he was released from hospital on Sunday evening.

He and Russell will now undergo the return to play concussion protocols and Gregor Townsend will be praying both men recover for the trip to Twickenham in two weeks. Scotland will need them.

What now for Scotland in the Six Nations?

The overriding feeling among the Scotland fans, both inside Murrayfield and commenting online, was an overwhelming sense of deflation.

You have to hope that same despondency is not prevalent among the squad in the coming days because they will need to move on quickly. There is still plenty to play for.

Gregor Townsend attempted to put a positive spin on the performance against Ireland after the match, but the team will need to be a whole lot better if they are to salvage anything from this campaign.

In many ways, England in round three is the perfect game to bounce back. It's the one game Scotland are pretty much guaranteed to bring the required intensity, the recent Calcutta Cup record is exceptional, and a win at Twickenham would be the perfect tonic after the bitter disappointment of being swotted aside by Ireland.

But England will be re-energised after their dramatic late victory over France and desperate to put one over Scotland after four straight defeats in this fixture.

The margin for error is gone for both teams in this Six Nations, and both Townsend and Steve Borthwick will know a defeat that ends their title challenge by round three will lead to some very uncomfortable questions.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Tom Jordan says Scotland must move on quickly from their defeat by Ireland and insists Gregor Townsend's side can still enjoy a successful Six Nations campaign.

The Scots were outclassed in a 32-18 defeat at Murrayfield, their 11th straight loss against the Irish.

Next up is a trip to Twickenham to face England on February 22, having opened their campaign with a win over Italy last week.

"I never like losing and I think after last week, first win of the Six Nations and the world's your oyster really, so really disappointing to take the loss," Jordan said.

"I think we've got to probably sweep it under the carpet as quickly as we can and move forward.

"There's still a lot to play for and we're still in this competition. If we can get a few good wins going forward, then that'll be really good."

Aside from a promising spell either side of half-time when Scotland hauled themselves back from 17-0 down to within six points, Ireland were dominant throughout, but Jordan insists his side are able to compete with the world's best.

"I think we do create a lot of opportunities, I think we play a good style," said the Glasgow Warriors back.

"We're putting ourselves in those positions a lot of the time, even if you look back to the South Africa game (a 32-15 defeat in November). We had, again, a lot of opportunities there where we just didn't capitalise.

"So I think we're right there. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. It's just having that bit more killer instinct right at the end there and just being really accurate.

"If we can tidy up that and get that right, we'll be a really tough team to face. That's what we're striving for."

Image source, Inpho

Celtic Challenge Cup:

Clovers (31) 41

Tries: McGann, Costigan (2), Lane, Nic a Bhaird (2), Deely Cons: Fowley (3)

Glasgow Warriors: (5) 19

Tries: Fraser, Bogan, McNamara Cons: McNamara (2)

Clovers made it five consecutive wins in the Celtic Challenge as they claimed a bonus-point 41-19 victory against Glasgow Warriors in Cork.

The hosts had the bonus-point secured by half-time, after five first-half tries from five different scorers gave them a commanding 31-5 lead at the break.

Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird and Amee Leigh Costigan, who both touched down in the first half, added further tries after the restart to wrap up the comfortable win.

The victory sees Clovers remain in second in the table, four points behind Wolfhounds with a game in hand.

McGann gave Clovers the lead on five minutes when she spotted a gap and darted through in the left corner.

Three minutes later they had their second try as Enya Breen swivelled past two players and kicked to Costigan, who won the foot race to score in the right corner.

Lane crossed for the third try before Glasgow replacement Katie Yoemans was then shown a yellow card moments after coming on, for a high tackle.

Clovers made their player advantage count as Nic a Bhaird bustled her way over the whitewash with Deely also finishing off a slick move from the home side for their fifth try.

Glasgow registered their first score three minutes before half-time, capitalising on a Clovers handling error as Roma Fraser touched down.

The hosts scored again a minute into the second half as Nic a Bhaird burst over, but Glasgow responded with a try of their own from a driving maul as Hollan Bogan grounded the ball.

Costigan got her second of the game as she raced down the right, evading a number of challenges before sliding over.

Briar McNamara got Glasgow's third try after patient play, but the Clovers were able to see out the win.

Listen to the full episode.

Scotland fans, what did you make of the performance of Gregor Townsend's side as they were swept aside by Ireland?

Where does it leave their Six Nations hopes for this year?

Have your say., external

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Scottish co-captain Rory Darge has been speaking to BBC Sport.

On the loss of Finn Russell and Darcy Graham in the first half: "Obviously it's tough to deal with. Two very important players going down.

"Hopefully they're all right. I think they're both OK but I'm not sure."

On the difference between the two sides: "The boys hung in there but we're obviously disappointed with the result in the end.

"The difference was probably their clinicalness in the finish zone. We had a few opportunities, showing a little bit, but not taking them or converting them into scores."

On preparations for England next up: "Initially with the week off, get some time away. That's a sore loss we've to take on the chin.

"But by the time we come back into camp, make sure that we're ready to go."

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: "When they had the ball, they scored. The yellow card made it tough for us to get back in the game. Then the injuries disrupted things.

"I felt the players were building back into the game, but once Ireland got back into our 22 they showed how clinical they are. When you are behind on the scoreboard against a quality side, you need to make sure they don't get more opportunities.

"We'll get learnings. Accuracy would be the number one thing."

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Scotland fell to a second successive defeat in the Under-20s Six Nations as Ireland proved too strong in Edinburgh.

The visitors raced into a commanding early lead, with winger Charlie Molony scoring a hat-trick and Billy Corrigan crossing to secure a bonus point inside 21 minutes.

Scotland hit back through a Fergus Watson try before half-time, and narrowed the gap further after the break when Joe Roberts scored off the back of a lineout maul.

Oisin Minogue scored Ireland's fifth try to quell hopes of a Scotland comeback, before Scotland replacement Hector Patterson scored a magnificent individual try.

It wasn't enough though, and Ireland ran out 33-15 winners.

Ireland were beaten by England in Cork last week, while Scotland began their tournament with a loss against Italy.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Rory Darge has backed Glasgow Warriors team-mate Tom Jordan to excel on his first Test start at inside centre against Ireland on Sunday.

Jordan, 26, has been a mainstay in the Warriors team at fly-half, leading Glasgow to the URC title last season.

He made his international debut at full-back against Fiji in November and started at 15 the following week against South Africa.

After an impressive appearance off the bench against Italy, Jordan has been selected to start at 12 against the Irish, and Darge has backed his clubmate to continue his rapid rise.

"It's been pretty whirlwind, hasn't it?" Darge said.

"He's just gone from strength to strength. He's already shown that he can play at Test match level. Last week when he came on, he brought real energy. For his first cap, he was playing at full-back. He slotted in really well and did a job.

"He'll be really excited to go out and play at 12, where he's probably played most of his rugby. But then at Glasgow, he's played a lot of 10. It just shows the sort of quality player he is, that he can cover and play to a really high standard in all those positions."

"With Sione [Tuipulotu] being out of the squad, everyone has to bring a little bit more of their leadership because he's a massively important player to us in terms of leadership and his performances. I'm really excited to see Tom go."

We asked for your thoughts on Scotland's team to face Ireland.

Here's what some of you said:

Anon: Good positive attacking team. Tom Jordan at 12 tells me they are going for it. Good bench. Good luck boys, we're going to need it against the green machine.

Alan: This is the best team available. I cannot think of any permutations that could improve it other than the injured players recovering.

Rusty: The team is about as strong as we can put out with Sione Tuipulotu missing. So glad to see Jordan stepping into 12. It could be a Titanic battle in the centres, let's hope it's the Irish ship that sinks. The back row is abrasive. 15 v 15 is very matched but Irish have the advantage across the 23 v 23. Hopefully, the starting boys can get the job done early, I fear not.

Stair: The omission of George Horne seems odd. To my mind, he is the second-best scrum half in the competition, behind Jamison Gibson-Park. Brave to start Pierre Schoeman on the bench. I understand the impact theory but the first half against an Irish team is critical. However, a strong bench will help to drive towards an 80-minute performance.

Andrew: Great team to face Ireland, however, a bit surprised to see Schoeman on the bench. Great to have Jordan in at 12 for the three playmakers, him, Finn Russell and Blair Kinghorn.

Chris Paterson joins Andy Burke for the latest Six Nations offering from the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast.

Can Scotland end a long wait to beat Ireland on Sunday?

Listen in to the big match preview.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Gregor Townsend says Scotland must deal with the inevitable difficult moments that will come against Ireland if they are to finally end their long winless run against the Six Nations champions.

The Scots have not beaten the Irish in 10 attempts and Townsend wants his team to stay focused even when they come under pressure from one of the world's top teams at Murrayfield on Sunday.

"You're going to get times where you don't execute what you want to do and sometimes you get away with that," the head coach said.

"Your defence tidies up and opposition don't score, but you've just got to adapt to what situation occurs and you can't dwell on it, you've got to move on.

"We get back to the reason why we play, is to score more points than the opposition at the end of the day, that's what it is.

"If you deny the opposition opportunities to score and even getting them creating less opportunities, then that's going to be easier.

"And the flip side, if you can create more opportunities and take more of them, then you've got more chance of getting those winning points."