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| Scotland vs. Ireland |
Round 3 of the RBS Six Nations rugby match concludes with Scotland bagging a win against the IRFU with the score of 12 to 8. That's 12 points for Scotland and 8 points for Ireland. Seems the first half sees Scotland in a rough start against the Irish rivals but on the second half, with the Scottish had no tries, they managed to outrun the Irish, probably thanks to Laidlaw's....
PRESS RELEASE:
Laidlaw's boot seals Scotland comeback
Greig Laidlaw kicked all the points as Scotland staged a fine comeback to sink Ireland 12-8 and chalk up back-to-back RBS 6 Nations victories for the first time since 2001.
Trailing 8-0 just after the break and having been outclassed in the first 50 minutes, Scotland romped back and Laidlaw's clinical kicking edged out Ireland, who slipped to a second straight Championship loss.
In complete contrast to Laidlaw, Ireland fly-half Paddy Jackson enjoyed a difficult debut, missing three kicks at goal before he was replaced.
For Scotland, having defeated Italy in the previous match, their hopes of clinching the RBS 6 Nations title remain very much alive after a first Championship victory over Ireland at Murrayfield in 12 years.
Despite Jackson's inaccuracy from the tee, Ireland were very much in the ascendancy in the first half but for all their knocking on the Scotland door, they could only take a three-point lead in with them at the interval.
Debutant centre Luke Marshall enjoyed a first cap to remember, making two superb line breaks but Scotland's scrambled defence kept Ireland out.
On six minutes Ireland got their first sniff of the try-line but Rob Kearney's grubber kick didn't find a way through the Scotland line and a minute later 21-year-old Marshall made his first blistering run.
Bypassing Ruaridh Jackson, Marshall scythed through and picked out Keith Earls on the left but with Brian O'Driscoll on the outside, the wing couldn't find the pass.
Ireland showed their intent by turning down a kickable penalty to kick for the corner but that backfired somewhat when Jim Hamilton stole the lineout ball.
Ireland kept coming however and Marshall made another break, this time on the right, only for his pass, which looked forward, to be knocked on by Craig Gilroy on ten minutes.
Scotland then found themselves down to 14 men on 16 minutes when prop Ryan Grant was sent to sin bin after bringing down Conor Murray who had taken a quick penalty but had not travelled ten metres.
Debutant fly-half Jackson shanked his first effort at goal on the international stage however before Scotland embarked on their first real attack, only for Johnnie Beattie's pass to Matt Scott to go forward.
Then it was Earls' turn to split the Scotland defence but he failed to see the supporting O'Driscoll inside and the Munster man was forced inside by Stuart Hogg and Sean Maitland.
Scotland were clinging on but were aided by Ireland's misfiring lineout as the score remained 0-0 despite ireland's dominance.
On 33 minutes an Irish driving maul was brought down by Scotland and again Ireland turned down the three points and kicked for the corner.
But while they won another lineout, they could not force their way through and settled for a kick at goal after Kelly Brown was pinged for not releasing, this time 21-year-old Jackson notching his first points on the senior international stage.
Scotland, despite being outplayed for the opening 39 minutes, were then given a chance to level things up on the stroke of half-time but Hogg, whose range is longer than regular kicker Laidlaw, just fell short from 50 metres.
The second half started with more of the same - Ireland maintaining their policy of keeping the ball in hand with Scotland again on the back foot.
And on 44 minutes they finally made the breakthrough. Bulldozing flanker Sean O'Brien made the break and after a few more phases that saw Kearney and O'Driscoll both go close, Gilroy spun his way over the line after he was fed by Murray. Jackson struck the near upright with his kick from the right, ensuring Ireland led 8-0.
Scotland then earned themselves a foothold in the match by winning a penalty in the Ireland 22 and Laidlaw made no mistake to get the hosts on the board.
Soon after Jackson drifted another penalty wide and when Scotland's powerful scrum earned another penalty in front of the posts, Laidlaw brought his side to within just two points on 59 minutes.
Buoyant, Scotland began enjoying some possession in the Ireland 22 and Beattie fell just short of the try-line when bursting through from the rolling maul.
Scotland had already been awarded the penalty however and when Laidlaw's speculative high kick into the in-goal area did not result in a try, the scrum-half booted his side into a 9-8 lead from the tee.
That prompted Declan Kidney to introduce Ronan O'Gara for his 128th cap and he showed all his nous when chipping ahead, but fellow replacement Luke Fitzgerald couldn't gather the ball.
However a moment of madness from O'Gara, who was wayward with a cross-field kick deep in his own 22, eventually saw Scotland win the penalty and Laidlaw give his side a four-point gap.
Ireland then won a penalty deep in the Scotland half and kicked for the corner with three minutes remaining and despite numerous phases just short of the visitors' line, Kearney ran into his own man and the chance was gone.
Source: http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/matchcentre/22378.php
The third round concludes with England's in the lead by six points while Wales and Scotland had 4 points and Ireland and Italy has 2 points. Seems that France never won a single match in this year's Six Nations rugby. The fourth round will have a very different experience. Scotland vs. Wales, Ireland vs. France, and England vs. Italy...It all happens next month...
