Midfielders maestros
IRELAND’S FOUR-POINT win over Scotland was by no means pretty, but there were still commendable performances to take note of.
Garry Ringrose is the obvious star of this group of players, but when he backs up the hype he is a joy to behold. The centre gave Ireland a vital leg-up in this fixture, his 11th minute break carved open the Scottish defence and his pass gave Billy Dardis a chance to accelerate on to the ball and go on a straight race for the line (watch it here).
It was telling that, on Ireland’s next central attacking scrum, Joey Carbery found a large gap to exploit as the blue shirts had renewed focus on the midfield channels.
Source: Matteo Ciambelli/INPHO
Ringrose’s midfield partner Sam Arnold was also critical in this result. The Ulster man stamped his physicality on the game at vital times and made telling contributions when Ireland were struggling to escape their 22. Perhaps the most important intervention was to get in behind the try-line early in the second half, he flung his body under Ruairidh Knott by any means to prevent the powerful Scottish back row a chance to ground the ball against the post.
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Source: Matteo Ciambelli/INPHO
Breakdown beauty
Almost as important as getting your breakdown approach technically right is to make sure the referee thinks you’re doing it right. With minimal possession and territory, this is how Ireland managed to hold on for victory.
When Scottish attacks didn’t end with a spilled, they ended with hands slapping green backs because of turnover penalties.
Source: Matteo Ciambelli/INPHO
Two of the men added to the starting line-up after the win over Argentina led the way on the ground. Sean McNulty proved an immovable object when arching over to get hands on the ball and openside Conor Oliver was a constant pest for Sean Lineen’s attack – he was eventually punished nine minutes from time. Debutant Liam O’Connor also got in on the action with a text book separation from the ruck before reaching in to force one of many crucial turnover penalties.