Ireland claimed a nervy 17-13 victory over Scotland in Dublin to seal back-to-back Six Nations titles. Ireland saw their grand slam dreams crushed by England last week but quickly bounced back to win the championship, although they were made to work hard for the win.
Andy Farrell’s men only needed to avoid defeat to guarantee that they would be lifting the trophy at the Aviva Stadium and they led 7-6 at half-time thanks to Dan Sheehan’s try following an overthrown lineout.
They then roared out of the blocks in the second half and moved 17-6 ahead with Andrew Porter’s try, meaning Huw Jones’s late score was only a consolation for the Scots and the hosts saw the game out to spark celebrations at the Aviva Stadium.
For their part, Gregor Townsend’s troops were smarting following a shock 31-29 defeat to Italy last time out that scuppered their title chances and although they put in an improved performance in Dublin, they have now lost 10 straight matches against Ireland and a Six Nations that started with so much promise will ultimately go down as a failure after just two wins.
Relive all the action with our blog below:
Peter O’Mahony discusses potential retirement and Six Nations win
Peter O’Mahony spoke to ITV after the narrow win in Dublin.
On whether he will now retire from international rugby: “I don’t know. I’ve got a few chats to have with family over the next couple of weeks. If it was my last one, it’s not a bad one to go out on.
“This has been one of the tougher weeks of my career. We weren’t happy with the performance last week and knew we could do better. Thankfully today we did it against a seriously good Scottish side. We showed grit and ambition with the ball in a damp, greasy environment.
“We played good rugby in the middle 20 minutes of the second half and that was important for us. We spoke about getting stuck in.
“This is a special group of people – players and staff. The World Cup experience bonded the group. It’s a huge honour to captain your country and a huge honour every time you’re selected to play. We showed it the utmost respect today.”
(AFP via Getty Images)
Luke Baker16 March 2024 19:06
Ireland win the 2024 Six Nations
At one stage it looked like Ireland would cruise to back-to-back grand slams in the Six Nations but England scuppered that at Twickenham last week.
However, Andy Farrell’s men bounced back to get the win they needed today to seal the title. They were made to work hard by Scotland but Andrew Porter’s try proved decisive. They won’t be easy to stop next year either as they go for three on the spin.
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:52
FULL-TIME! Ireland 17-13 Scotland – IRELAND WIN THE SIX NATIONS
And it’s there! Clock goes red, they boot into the stands and Ireland win the 2024 Six Nations! Not always pretty but they win and seal back-to-back titles. Well deserved
(Liam McBurney/PA Wire)
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:46
Ireland 17-13 Scotland, 79 mins
Go through the phases and eat the remaining clock is the aim for Ireland
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:45
Ireland 17-13 Scotland, 79 mins
Scotland look to run from deep. A try would win it! Russell fakes a cross-field kick. But they knock on! Roar from the Irish crowd. They’re all but there.
Bunker review complete and Byrne’s yellow card stays yellow by the way
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:44
TRY! Ireland 17-13 Scotland (Huw Jones, 78 mins)
And they do score! Huw Jones does it all himself.
He slips through one tackle and breas through the defensive line. One on one with Lowe in the backfield, steps him beautifully and runs under the posts. Easy conversion and Scotland within four points.
They couldn’t, could they…
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:43
Ireland 17-6 Scotland, 77 mins
Scotland run some phases and Horne and Redpath link up well to get into the 22. This is one of the best chances to score a try they’ve had this entire match.
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:41
SIN-BIN! Ireland 17-6 Scotland, 75 mins
Scotland try to run from deep and do win a penalty for Byrne’s high tackle so Russell can eat up a chunk of territory with his kick to touch.
Sin-bin over, Ashman returns and we’re 15 vs 15 for the final few minutes. Actually, scratch that. Harry Byrne is pinged for the high tackle and the TMO review sees him yellow carded for head to head contact on Russell. The bunker will review to see if it’s upgraded to red.
Either way, Ireland down to 14 for the rest of the match
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:40
Ireland 17-6 Scotland, 74 mins
Russell with the exit kick from in his own in-goal area. Good length on it. Henshaw then knocks on in contact after the lineout, so Russell can boot into Irish territory.
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:36
WATCH: Andrew Porter crashes over
Here was that Andrew Porter try
Luke Baker16 March 2024 18:35
