Stay in touch with us as this afternoon’s action unfolds. Leave a comment below, send your e-mails to niall@thescore.ie, or tweet us @thescore_ie. We’ve a few books cluttering up the office here, so there’ll be a prize for the best contribution.
16:55 That’s all from me for the moment. I’m off to bang my head off the wall for a bit, but I’ll be back with more reaction and analysis later on. Thanks for stopping by.
16:50 That was pretty awful to tell you the truth. The worst Irish performance of the three games so far if you ask me. As the lads in the RTE studio said, Ireland need to stop winning ugly and start performing.
The main problem is that, for long periods of the game, Ireland played like a team that simply do not know how to win. The team’s confidence is clearly in ribbons and I’m not quite sure what it will take to restore it.
Expect a lengthy post-mortem over the coming days and weeks as Declan Kidney’s methods and decisions are called into question again and again. I’m not sure where exactly responsibility lies, but on the basis of today’s performance, nobody is really immune from criticism.
If we’re looking for positives, O’Gara, Heaslip, O’Brien and Reddan all played very well. Paul O’Connell was superb in the dying minutes, playing like a man possessed to keep winning turnover ball and relieve the pressure. That’s about it though.
FULL TIME: SCOTLAND 18-21 IRELAND
80 min: Ireland wind down the clock and Jonny Sexton kicks to touch. Ireland win, but only just.
79 min: Scotland have possession, but they’re inside their own half. Stringer turns it over and that should be that.
78 min: Scottish line-out inside Irish territory. Stolen by O’Connell and kicked away by Cronin. That could be huge.
77 min: It’s all Scotland. They’re in drop goal territory should Parks take the chance, but O’Connell turns it over. Relief, for the moment.
74 min: Twice in the past five minutes, Jonny Sexton has kept the ball in hand rather than kicking it deep into Scottish territory. It would be really nice if he stopped doing that.
73 min: The levels of anxiety – both in Murrayfield and here in the office – are rising rapidly.
70 min: The referee signals for a Scottish advantage and Parks cleverly uses it to slot a drop goal. Scotland 18-21 Ireland. Tom Court is now on, Mike Ross making way.
Ireland need to calm down in a major way. These last ten minutes are going to be hellish.
68 min: Ryle Nugent claims that Ireland are searching for the self-destruct button. It’s all getting a little bit edgy here.
67 min: Kidney is emptying the bench here. Sexton is on for O’Gara, and Tom Court is stripped and ready to come on at the next dead-ball. Leinster lock Nathan Hines is introduced for Scotland.
65 min: Denis Leamy’s hands are in the ruck and Parks will have an opportunity to claw another three points back for Scotland. Nigel Owens seemed to indicate there that the next Irish infringement will result in a yellow card.
The kick kisses the inside of the left post before dropping over. Scotland 15-21 Ireland.
64 min: Excellent hands from the big man Murray Low gives Scotland decent field position but Ireland manage to weather the storm in turn it over.
59 min: A brilliant positional kick from O’Gara forces Scotland back onto their own five-metre line. I like this kicking game that Ireland are playing.
Kidney takes this opportunity to make a few changes – Best, Wallace and Reddan make way for Cronin, Leamy and Stringer.
57 min: Heaslip is penalised for going off his feet in the tackle. You can see that Drico is getting very visibly frustrated with Nigel Owens’ calls, though I’m not sure that will make the slightest bit of difference. As expected, Patterson kicks the goal. Scotland 12-21 Ireland.
53 min: Ross Ford’s weak attempt to stop O’Gara going over has been rewarded with a substitution. Don’t mess with Andy Robinson.
Dan Parks is on for Ruaridh Jackson as well.
52 min: TRY! (O’Gara) That’s been coming to be fair. A great line break by O’Gara, who fends off Ross Ford and then jinks his way under the posts. He tacks on points 997 and 998 with an easy conversion. That’s his 16th international try, and he’s now the all-time top scorer in tournament, passing Jonny Wilkinson. Scotland 9-21 Ireland
50 min: O’Brien is a man on a mission here, single-handedly bulldozing the Scottish defence. Ireland are seven or eight metres out again and look very likely to score if they can get the ball wide. They concede a penalty though and all the momentum is lost.
48 min: Some more great running from Sean O’Brien takes Ireland deep inside the 22. Scotland turn it over from what must be an offside position but, for some unknown reason, the referee allows play to continue.
47 min: Brilliant play from Keith Earls there. He gathers deep in his own 22 and evades two tackles before kicking to just outside the Scottish 22.
46 min: Healy concedes a penalty for binding from the resulting scrum and Scotland have a chance to relieve the pressure.
45 min: O’Brien takes a fantastic line on Reddan’s shoulder and takes the ball just short of the Scottish line. The ref has blown for a forward pass though and it comes back for a Scotland scrum. I’m really not sure about that decision.
44 min: YELLOW CARD Allan Jacobsen is sin-binned by Nigel Owens for illegal engagement in the scrum. It was only a matter of time before somebody took a walk. Ireland will have ten minutes to make their numerical advantage count.
42 min: Penalty against Scotland for wheeling the scrum. ROG kicks to touch and it’s an Irish line-out just outside the Scottish 22. Ireland lose it. Again. Rory Best’s throwing hasn’t been fantastic so far today.
40 min: O’Gara gets proceedings back underway.
15:55 McGurk: “When do you want to see Sexton come on, George?”
Hook: “Not before the Australia match in October.”
Ouch.
15:54 Hookey claims that Sexton should be brought nowhere near this game for as long as it remains a contest. What do you think?
15:52 Send us in your half-time thoughts via e-mail, tweet, comment or Facebook. We’ll have a book for the most insightful comment as judged by me.
15:50 George Hook may have been right – Ireland look determined to shoot themselves in the foot again and again and again. Scotland aren’t great though, and if Ireland can keep at it, the win is there for the taking.
Heaslip is my Man of the Match so far. Reddan’s use of the ball has been impressive as well. Encouraging signs.
HALF-TIME: SCOTLAND 9-14 IRELAND
40 min: Keith Earls very, very nearly goes over in the corner for another Irish try. Bowe set him free down the left and it looked like Earls was in, but a great tackle from Nick de Luca drags him into touch and Nigel Owens signals for half-time.
39 min: Murray Low concedes a penalty for not rolling away. It looks like O’Gara is going to kick into a slight breeze from the half-way line. O’Gara’s kick probably had the legs, but it drifted just wide on the right-hand side. Seconds left in this first half.
37 min: Once again, O’Gara shows how effective the kicking game can be when executed correctly. He has pinned Scotland back inside their own 22.
35 min: Ireland work it through 15 phases of play which leaves them five metres short of the Scottish line. O’Gara is isolated, however, and he concedes a penalty for holding the ball on the ground.
There was some great play to get into that position though, particularly from Cian Healy and Sean O’Brien.
31 min: The penalty count is now 7-1 against Ireland. “Masochistic” is Hookey’s word of choice.
30 min: For some reason, Rory Best “forgets” to release Ross Ford in the tackle, and Paterson will have another kick at goal from the Irish ten-metre line. The kicking full-back doesn’t miss those. Scotland 9-14 Ireland.
28 min: TRY! (Reddan) Heaslip does brilliantly to stay up at the back of the scrum. He pops it to Reddan who is unopposed as he goes over under the posts for his first international try. An easy conversion for ROG and Ireland go eight points up. Scotland 6-14 Ireland.
27 min: Some sloppy defending from Scotland there. They should have claimed a wayward Irish lineout but instead let the ball bounce and then carry it back over their own line. Five-yard scrum to Ireland.
25 min: Scotland are back in contention in a big way. The possession stats speak for themselves – 59% for Scotland versus 41% for Ireland.
23 min: It was only a matter of time before the scrum became problematic. Nigel Owens stands over the mess for three minutes before awarding a penalty against Mike Ross for binding. Jackson kicks to touch but doesn’t quite make it.
21 min: “The only way that Ireland can lose this game is through their own indiscipline”. So says Conor O’Shea, and on the basis of this first 20 minutes, you’d have to agree.
20 min: And now Scotland give Ireland a penalty for the exact same offence – playing the Irish scrum-half at the ruck when he doesn’t have the ball in hand. O’Gara’s kick at goal falls just short.
17 min: Ireland concede another penalty around the breakdown inside their own half. That’s four penalties in total so far and we’re only 17 minutes in.
It’s long, but Paterson strikes it sweetly straight down the middle. Scotland 6-7 Ireland.
16 min: Scottish penalty inside the Irish 22. It’s against Cian Healy for not retreating quickly enough according to today’s referee, Nigel Owens. Chris Paterson stands over it … and that’s a lovely kick from out near the right-hand touch line. Scotland 3-7 Ireland.
13 min: ROG of course is chasing down 1000 points in an Irish jersey. He started the day on 988, so he only needs ten more.
10 min: O’Gara already showing that he’s not afraid to put boot to ball. Ireland have a lineout on the Scottish ten metre line, but Scotland steal it. Not good enough really.
4 min: TRY! (Heaslip) An early breakthrough for Ireland. A wonderful chip from Ronan O’Gara goes out off a Scottish leg, giving Ireland good field position inside the opposition 22. The line-out is good and, after Healy is held up just short of the line, Heaslip waltzes through for an easy try. ROG tacks on the conversion. Scotland 0-7 Ireland
1 min: An early penalty for Scottish new boy Ruaridh Jackson from just inside the half-way line. I think it was given for offside against O’Connell. It looks like Jackson’s kick has the legs, but it fades just short of the posts. An early let-off for Ireland.
0 min: We’re off.
14:59 I love “Flower of Scotland”. Also “The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond”. Great tunes.
14:57 The teams are on the pitch and Ireland’s Call is ringing out around Murrayfield. It’s time.
14:54 Scotland boss Andy Robinson was just on the Beeb. The two teams will be approaching this one with similar mindsets it seems.
We have to limit our errors. We have to get at Ireland and keep that pressure on their defence. We are looking to play the right way.
14:52 Popey and Conor O’Shea have both gone for an Ireland win. The deliberately contrary George Hook goes for Scotland. The first shock of the afternoon – not.
14:50 Unusually, it appears to be sunny in Edinburgh. In other news, pigs fly etc.
14:47 In other rugby news, Munster have just beaten Aironi 20-10 in their Magners League game. That puts them 11 points clear at the top by my calculations.
14:45 Alright, fifteen minutes to go. I’ll admit I’m getting a little bit nervous. An article in the Scotsman apparently described Declan Kidney as “approaching each game with the caution of a bomb disposal expert.” Hmm …
14:30 Has anybody placed any bets on the game? Tommy Bowe to be the first tryscorer at 8/1 was one of our Five Steps to Heaven on Friday. Despite the fact that our first two bets have fallen flat, we’re sticking with Tommy.
The handicap margin is appealing enough as well. We’ll have a few euro on Ireland -4.5 points at 4/5. What do you reckon?
14:20 Earlier this week, Mark Hobbs spoke to RTE’s Head of Sport Ryle Nugent to pick his brain over Ireland’s recent poor run of results.
The margin here is minimal. It’s inches. Sean Cronin holds on to that pass in the dying minutes of the game against France, Ireland go over in the corner and we’ve beaten them by four tries to one.
And all of a sudden everyone is talking about a Grand Slam and not the penalties that were given away or playing the game in the wrong areas of the pitch or whatever other issues.
You can read more of his thoughts here.
14:15 Drico had a few words during yesterday’s presser, and while he assured us that today’s game isn’t about revenge for last year’s 23-20 defeat, the Irish camp have been thinking about and talking about what happened that day.
One way or another you always look at the last game you played against your upcoming opposition. You feed off the positives if you’ve beaten them, or off the disappointment if you’ve lost to them.
Particularly in that situation, playing for a Triple Crown in the last game at Croke Park. It certainly left a sour taste in our mouths.
We want to make sure we don’t allow that to happen this time around and use the disappointment in that dressing room to our benefit tomorrow.
14:10 While you’re whiling away the next 50 minutes, you might enjoy this clip. Having endured enough disappointing defeats in the Murrayfield mud and rain, some former Irish stars have cautioned against complacency today.
I would have thought that would go without saying, but apparently not.
14:05 Infostrada have a nice stat, from an Irish perspective anyway. 28 February 2008 is the last time that Scotland scored a Six Nations try at Murrayfield. Italy were the opposition that day.
If Ireland give away as many kickable penalties as they did against France, Scotland probably won’t even need a try. Chris Paterson is a goal-kicking machine, something which the Irish players would do very well to remember over the course of the 80 minutes.
14:00 So, as we learned earlier this week, Declan Kidney has made three changes to his starting 15 from the team that valiantly lost out to France three weeks ago. It’s all change in the half-back line with Reddan and ROG in for O’Leary and Sexton. Meanwhile, Tommy Bowe is back from injury which means that there’s no place in the matchday 22 for Fergus McFadden.
But what does it all mean in the grand scheme of things? Jonny Sexton came in for a lot of criticism after the French game because he simply refused to kick the ball for large parts of the game. Whether he was under instruction or not, we’ll never know, but he’s made way for O’Gara who has been brilliant in his two cameo performances so far.
What I want to know is – does this mean that ROG is now Ireland’s preferred out-half again? Does this line-up mean that Kidney is having second thoughts about Ireland’s all-new running game? Or is it merely a case of picking 15 in-form players for an important game?
13:55 Here are the teams.
Scotland: 15-Chris Paterson, 14-Nikki Walker, 13-Nick De Luca, 12-Sean Lamont, 11-Max Evans, 10-Ruaridh Jackson, 9-Mike Blair, 8-Johnnie Beattie, 7-John Barclay, 6-Kelly Brown, 5-Alastair Kellock, 4-Richie Gray, 3-Moray Low, 2-Ross Ford, 1-Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16-Scott Lawson, 17-Geoff Cross, 18-Nathan Hines, 19-Richie Vernon, 20-Rory Lawson, 21-Dan Parks, 22-Simon Danielli.
Ireland: 15-Luke Fitzgerald, 14-Tommy Bowe, 13-Brian O’Driscoll (captain), 12-Gordon D’Arcy, 11-Keith Earls, 10-Ronan O’Gara, 9-Eoin Reddan; 8-Jamie Heaslip, 7-David Wallace, 6-Sean O’Brien, 5-Paul O’Connell, 4-Donncha O’Callaghan, 3-Mike Ross, 2-Rory Best, 1-Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16-Sean Cronin, 17-Tom Court, 18-Leo Cullen, 19-Denis Leamy, 20-Peter Stringer, 21-Jonathan Sexton, 22-Paddy Wallace.
13:45 It’s never too early to start talking about rugby, is it?
Today’s game at Murrayfield really is like watching a scrap between two wounded animals. Three-try Ireland shot themselves in the foot with defensive indiscipline against France last time out while Scotland … well, they just weren’t very good against Wales. The Murrayfield perspex is still reverberating from the impact of Andy Robinson’s clenched fist – and that was two weeks ago.
A loss for either side today really would be catastrophic. For Ireland, it would shatter the dream of a Triple Crown as well as casting ominous clouds over any potential World Cup prospects. For Scotland, losing today would mean a probable wooden spoon clash with Italy in the tournament’s final week. Unless, of course, the Scots can beat England in Twickenham in two weeks’ time. Stranger things have happened.
We’ll have all of the pre-match coverage as well as the action so you’d be well-advised to stay here. Ireland will probably lose if you go elsewhere. You’ve been warned.
