Ireland 28-22 Scotland: Ireland see off Scotland in World Cup warm-up
Tuesday 18 August 2015 18:57, UK
Ireland continued their World Cup preparations as they beat Scotland 28-22 at the Aviva Stadium.
The Irish dominated the opening half but had only Chris Henry's try to show for it as the visitors levelled through Blair Cowan.
They did not expect to see the Scots storm out of the traps in the second half but despite conceding further touchdowns to Henry Pyrgos and Peter Horne, Ireland were able to claim their second victory in a week with tries from Sean Cronin, Simon Zebo and Luke Fitzgerald.
Errors were rife in the opening exchanges with miscommunication and awry set pieces dominating both side’s possession.
However, the hosts remained patient and got their breakthrough after quarter of an hour.
A line-out drive pushed the Scots back into the shadow of their own posts and after a period of sustained pressure Chris Henry barged over to score. Ian Madigan duly adding the extras.
It was Ireland once again who threatened the opposition line following a lineout 12 metres out but great work in the ruck from Blair Cowan earned his side the penalty.
Gaining ground into Irish territory was a struggle for the Scots, even when they won their first scrum on opposition turf, the opportunity to advance was snuffed out by the dominant Irish forwards.
But Cotter’s team refused to be deterred and hit back on the half hour mark, as Ruaridh Jackson and Richie Vernon combined, following strong carries from Lamont and Denton, to put Cowan over in the corner.
The New Zealand-born flanker's touchdown was consolidated as Horne squeezed over his kick from wide on the right touchline but he wasted the chance to nudge his team in front with a sloppy penalty attempt three minutes before the break.
Scotland started the second half the brighter of the two teams. A strong lineout drive set up a strong position Jon Welsh burrowed his way to within a hair's breadth of the line, but, while the Irish backed off expecting Pyrgos to release the backs, the Glasgow scrum-half burrowed over the line.
Scottish joy was short-lived though, as Horne again missed with his boot, while Ryan Grant had to be taken off on a stretcher with an ankle knock, leaving his World Cup hopes in major doubt.
Ireland hit back when Madigan stuck another penalty into touch. This time the ploy worked as Sean Cronin muscled his way over from a successful line-out drive.
Madigan put his side momentarily in front with a conversion, but a Horne penalty once again handed Scotland the initiative.
With 20 minutes remaining Ireland thought they had finally killed off their rivals when Isaac Boss and Madigan worked a clever combination before sending Zebo galloping in behind the Scottish defence to score under the posts.
Madigan did the necessary with the conversion but when Scotland's veteran wing Sean Lamont was allowed to power his way forward and offload to Horne soon after, there was nothing Ireland could do as the centre ran in Scotland's third touchdown, converted this time by Jackson.
However, the crazy encounter continued to excite and Ireland did eventually put themselves out of sight with 10 minutes left as Madigan's cross-field kick landed perfectly in Fitzgerald's grasp before the winger skipped past Jackson to score.
Madigan again added the conversion but could have eased his side's nerves had he not wasted a penalty chance with five minutes left. A last-gasp bid from the visitors was fumbled by Blake, though, and Ireland clinched the win.
