Ireland came out of a piece from his visit to the dentist in Edinburgh and is about to throw a party in style. After defeating Scotland 7-22 – their fourth victory in four days of the Six Nations – they have the square of the circle in their hands. If they beat England in Dublin next Saturday, they will not only take the tournament in full Saint Patrick’s Day, but they will add the Grand Slam – the prize for winning all the matches – and will dethrone the powerful France, who needs the favor of their eternal rival seven days after humiliating him in London.
The dominance of the number one in the world ranking is explained in his variety of records. And that Scotland -arrived with options to lift the trophy 24 years later- went for it all, raised a fight without quarter in the release of each ball. An example is Ritchie’s fight with Murray, the Irish scrum-half who got confused for a moment and found himself engaged with the Scottish striker: four hands grabbing the oval with all his soul. It was a fateful afternoon for the 9 green; the architect in the lead, accustomed to releasing the oval as if those were eighth notes, saw how his rival muddied his score.
The low score did not illustrate the dynamism of the match, but it did illustrate the resistance of both defences. Ireland has the elasticity of a great, capable of going back so as not to break and force the rival to earn their salary in the last meters. Scotland did it on a run from their powerful cross pairing: Tuipulotu took the final defensive screen and set up Huw Jones’s fourth try of the tournament. It was the only concession of the XV del Trébol, which avoided the marks of Van den Merwe and Josh Turner with merit tackles in the final meters. It was an afternoon of defenses and the Irish woman supported the leader with a note.
The surgical precision of the attack at key moments did the rest for the XV del Trébol, pushed by Mack Hansen, who signed the best afternoon of his career as a protagonist in the three green trials. He scored the first after resisting the tackle from Stuart Hogg in the last few microns of grass – the defender had completed 100 international caps and has the Scottish record within reach –, who took the band out, but did not prevent the perched. Key episode because he closed the local advantage at his best.
Scotland were under pressure to maximize every attack. That is why he rejected a kick centered on sticks that would have allowed them to recover the advantage at halftime (7-8), risk without reward. In its extreme intensity, it went too far, with repeated protests to the referee, who vindicated his position as judge with two 10-meter sanctions. The window of opportunity was open, but Ireland closed it with two flashes.
Andy Farrell pulled from the bottom of the closet and advanced the substitution in the scrum-half position, relieving Murray’s tedious game, relieved by Gibson-Park. One of his first kicks was chased by Hansen fleetingly, who took advantage of the doubts from behind to hunt the oval and dislodge the board. Seconds later, James Lowe scored on the opposite flank. With no time to absorb the blow, Scotland bled dry with another decisive action from Hansen, surprising the hulking Jack Conan, listing to the wing, to assist after a charge down the middle. Versatility and lethality, two essential ingredients for the greens.
The XV del Trébol was able to round off the task with the bonus point from the fourth trial, but Ryan rushed in when he was already savoring the sticks and maintained the suspense for the last day.
Ireland starts with 19 points and a difference of +66 to France’s 15 points, with +46. The Gauls need all four points from their win against Wales, a defeat to Ireland and overcome their deficit, either adding one more point or turning the game around. average.
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