Ireland show class to win Triple Crown and end Scotland's Six Nations hopes

Facing a lethal Scottish side that came into the match on the back of putting 50 points on France, Ireland stood firm and frustrated Gregor Townsend's men in a steely showing.

Their tries came via Jamie Osborne, Dan Sheehan, Rob Baloucoune, Darragh Murray and Tommy O'Brien (2), with Jack Crowley adding 13 points off the tee at the Aviva Stadium.

Scotland crossed through Darcy Graham, Finn Russell and Rory Darge but they came up well short of their hosts on Saturday, with this loss meaning they finish in third position.

It was a breathtaking start to proceedings as three slick tries were registered with barely 10 minutes on the clock, with any supporters late to their seats missing a thrilling opening.

Ireland got the ball rolling when Crowley put Osborne under the posts on two minutes, the full-back profiting from excellent hands and prior decoy runners in green shirts to score.

But Scotland responded in ideal fashion three minutes later when the ball found its way out to the right, where Graham scooted over to level matters with Russell's successful kick.

The entertaining start continued when hooker Sheehan peeled off the back of a driving maul before dotting down to make it a 14-7 buffer for the Irish, who looked in decent fettle.

Indeed, they were as their third try of this fixture would come with only 18 minutes on the clock, this time some Baloucoune brilliance seeing him finish well from 25 metres out.

While the remainder of the first stanza continued to entertain, the scoring dried up, and it would remain 19-7 until the break, as Ireland went in delighted with their early efforts.

Scotland would need a purple patch if they were to give themselves a chance of Six Nations glory and also achieving the more immediate goal of winning a coveted Triple Crown.

They began the resumption with intent but Ireland were resolute in both tackle and breakdown, with Tadhg Beirne proving to be a nuisance to Scotland not for the first time.

However, the green wall would eventually break on 51 minutes when a moment of Russell quality, after sustained pressure, saw the fly-half slip the Irish net to make it 19-14.

That score sparked a similar period of stunning rugby to the early knockings as Ireland's response was a crossing from Six Nations debutant Murray before another run of phases from Scotland resulted in Darge finishing an impressive passage for 26-21, which provided the Scots a healthy amount of confidence for the closing stages.

But credit to Ireland, who re-established their 12-point cushion with a score from O'Brien on 69 minutes, converted by Crowley, and when the fly-half had the simple job of knocking over three points following a ruck penalty, the hosts had themselves a two-score lead and one hand on the Triple Crown trophy they have held since 2022.

The gloss was added late on by O'Brien, who showed searing pace to make it 43-21 with Crowley's touchline conversion as Ireland moved top, with the focus now turning to Paris.

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