2023-10-07 23:01:50
From our special correspondent – The Irish continued their flawless performance in this World Cup by largely beating Scotland (36-14) on Saturday in their last group match. They finished in first place in Pool B and will face New Zealand in the quarter-final on October 14 at the Stade de France. France will play against South Africa the next day in this same venue.
Published on: 07/10/2023 – 23:01
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The chants had barely started in the stands of the Stade de France, Saturday October 7, when three-quarters of Ireland already managed to capsize their supporters with a try from winger James Lowe in the 2nd minute.
The Scots reacted quickly and demonstrated their desire to do battle with this Irish team who had been undefeated for 17 games. While the referee whistled a penalty in their favor in the 4th minute on the ropes from opener Finn Russell, they chose to take the touchline.
Their efforts were not rewarded, with the Irish defense managing to recover the ball. But the Scots insisted by making the same decision on two other penalties which followed. And they swept the Irish camp for many minutes without ever managing to find the fault. A riot of sterile energy against the very powerful and diligent Irish in defense.
The rest became very complicated for the Scots, under permanent pressure. They managed to prevent Mack Hansen from scoring another try for Ireland in the 19th minute. But in this action they lost their third row and captain Jamie Ritchie, who was injured.
The Scots wasted precious ammunition in attack, being countered in touch. Much more effective, the Irish scored in the 26th minute on a nice combination from the back lines concluded by full-back Hugo Keenan. Five minutes later, Iain Henderson added to the score with a third try following some good pounding work from the Irish forwards.
The Scots tried to resist as long as possible the attempt at the offensive bonus which finally arrived in the 39th minute, Hugo Keenan scoring a double in this first half largely dominated by the Irish (26-0).
Two attempts to save honor
The break did not have any beneficial effects for Scotland who, despite their offensive appetite, were unable to be more effective. And she found herself outnumbered following Ollie Smith’s leg trip on Jonathan Sexton, receiving a yellow card in the 42nd minute. A stupid gesture which sparked a great scuffle between the two teams.
Three minutes later, hooker Dan Sheehan had the joy of scoring the 5th Irish try in a winger position, unconverted by Jonathan Sexton (31-0). The maestro of the Greens left the field immediately afterwards, he had played his part in this meeting. And the Irish management immediately made five simultaneous changes to preserve some of its staff for the quarter-final against New Zealand.
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The nightmare continued for the Scottish selection, Jack Crowley, replacing Sexton, delivering a magnificent foot pass to Garry Ringrose for a 6th Irish try. Overwhelmed, the Chardon XV players still held on and ended up being rewarded with a try, that of hooker Ewan Ashman, transformed by Finn Russell (36-7).
These first points finally gave Scotland some momentum and technical accuracy. Time to let scrum half Ali Price score a second try in the 66th minute (36-14). But Gregor Townsend’s men no longer had enough energy to really disrupt the Irish machine, which was once again implacable.
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