Six Nations kings Ireland again prove too much for Scotland

Six Nations kings Ireland again prove too much for Scotland

Clinching score: James Lowe runs at Stafford McDowall on his way to Ireland's third try in a 32-18 Six Nations win over Scotland at Murrayfield

Ireland stayed on course for an unprecedented third successive Six Nations title with a 32-18 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Ireland's 11th straight victory over Scotland means they are the only team left in this year's tournament with a chance of completing the coveted Grand Slam.

Scotland's misery was compounded by a first-half clash of heads between co-captain Finn Russell and team-mate Darcy Graham that took both backs out of the game.

However, coach Gregor Townsend later suggested the duo's injuries were not as severe as they appeared.

By that stage, and not for the first time in this fixture, Ireland's pack had established dominance and the visitors soon surged into a 17-0 lead.

Scotland rallied either side of half-time to reduce Ireland's advantage to 17-11. 

But further Ireland tries from wing James Lowe and replacement Jack Conan put the result beyond doubt. 

The 21-year-old fly-half Sam Prendergast, shaky in an opening 27-22 win over England, justified the faith of interim Ireland coach Simon Easterby with a man-of-the-match display.

- 'Fast start' -

"It wasn't perfect from us but it was better than last week," Prendergast told the BBC.

Ireland captain Caelan Doris, who scored one of his side's four tries, added: "We spoke about starting fast as Scotland are a dangerous team. We did that well."

Defeat left Scotland, who launched their Six Nations by beating Italy 31-19 in Edinburgh, still looking for their first win over Ireland since 2017.

Ireland's early forward pressure was rewarded when Prendergast's cut-out pass found unmarked wing Calvin Nash, only included after Mack Hansen withdrew with injury on Saturday, for an eighth-minute try.

Prendergast then made light of a tough conversion at gloomy and rainswept Murrayfield.

Scotland, went a man down in the 14th minute when Duhan van der Merwe was shown a yellow card for an off-the-ball challenge on opposing wing Nash.

Scotland faced more disruption in the 22nd minute when Russell and Graham clashed heads as they tried to tackle Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park.

Fly-half Russell, the Scots' key playmaker, walked off the field for a head injury assessment while Graham, after prolonged on-field attention, was placed on a stretcher and exited on a medical cart.

Townsend had selected just two backs -- James Dobie and Stafford McDowall -- on his eight-strong bench and Russell's absence saw centre Tom Jordan deputise at No 10.

"Finn is fine," Townsend told the BBC. "He actually passed his HIA but our staff sensed he wasn't totally aware of what was going on, so we made the call to not put him back on. 

"Darcy is at hospital now, I've not had an update. I think everything was OK with his neck but they were checking out concussion."

Van der Merwe was still in the sin-bin when Prendergast's penalty made it 10-0 to Ireland.

"The yellow card made it tough for us to get back in the game," said Townsend. "Then the injuries disrupted things.

"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."

With Scotland still trying to regroup, No 8 Doris powered over for a 32nd-minute converted try.

But Scotland's record try-scorer Van der Merwe gave the hosts renewed hope when he dived in at the corner for a spectacular score on the stroke of half-time.

Full-back Blair Kinghorn, pressed into goalkicking duties in Russell's absence, could not convert and Ireland led 17-5 at the break.

Kinghorn, however, kicked two penalties early in the second half to reduce Ireland's advantage to six points.

But that was as close as Scotland got with Lowe bouncing off tackles, scoring a 54th-minute try before back-row Conan forced his way over from close range on the hour.

By the time Scotland scrum-half Ben White went over for a 72nd-minute try it all was too little too late for Townsend's men. 

jdg/dj

jdg

jdg/bsp

Originally published as Six Nations kings Ireland again prove too much for Scotland