Scotland's Six Nations title hopes and Triple Crown bid foiled by nemesis Ireland in Dublin thriller

Gregor Townsend and his squad arrived here with glory in their grasp but never looked like winning. They lost 43-21 and in doing so blew the Triple Crown and any hope they had of the Six Nations title.

The Scots have now lost 12 consecutive matches to Ireland and you worry about the psychological toll ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup in Australia where the two sides will meet in Perth.

The wretched run continues to mess with the minds of Townsend and his players. The coach has always said that the fixture with England is Scotland's biggest of the season but Ireland is a problem he needs to fix. “This is their Ben Nevis,” the Irish Times noted wryly on Saturday morning. It remains a mountain they cannot climb.

The hosts were worthy winners. They were never behind, opening the scoring through Jamie Osborne in the third minute and ending it with Tommy O’Brien’s second try in the dying seconds.

It was a great day to be Irish; an awful one for the travelling supporters. As the hosts lifted the Triple Crown trophy high into the Dublin sky and the Cranberries boomed out around the Aviva, this felt like groundhog day. Ireland had also denied Scotland the Triple Crown in 2023 and 2024 but this felt rawer.

There was a confidence about Scotland coming into this game. They had beaten England, Wales and France on the bounce. Ireland were there for the taking, said Darcy Graham. Sadly, it was not the case and the contest unfolded in the way Ireland-Scotland games always seem to do. The Scots just don’t seem to be able to compete physically with the Irish. The performance last week against France had been brilliant, a mix of power and flair, but Ireland strangled Scotland on Saturday. A tactical triumph for Andy Farrell.

It’s 27 years since Scotland won the championship and 36 since they claimed the Triple Crown. Townsend’s side have ended up in third place which remains their high water mark in the Six Nations.

Fast starts have been a feature of this Scotland campaign and we got another in Dublin. Both teams bagged tries in the opening seven minutes and there were four in total in the first quarter. Unfortunately for the visitors, it was Ireland who scored three of them.

They were ruthless in their efficiency, making only three visits to the Scottish 22 to plunder their tries.

Scotland made too many errors

Scotland helped them on their way. They were penalised in the first scrum of the game on their own put-in and it opened the door for the hosts who kicked to the corner. The first try followed from the lineout. The excellent Rob Baloucoune carried into contact and Jack Crowley then found Jamie Osborne who went in under the posts.

Scotland’s response was immediate and impressive. Sione Tuipulotu gave them some momentum and patient phase play edged them further forward. Finn Russell fizzed the ball out to George Turner on the left wing and then Scotland worked it back to the other flank before Blair Kinghorn played in Graham to score in the corner. The winger looked delighted to score his first ever try against the men in green.

Russell’s conversion tied things up at 7-7 but Scotland conceded again almost immediately. Again, the try came from a lineout. This time Dan Sheehan broke off the side of the maul and plunged over unhindered. It looked far too easy.

Worse was to follow. Scotland lost Turner to a head injury, with Ewan Ashman replacing him. The sub hooker went straight into an Irish scrum from which the home team scored their third try. The ball was worked out the back in the sort of move Scotland specialise in. Stuart McCloskey flung it long to Baloucoune who managed to get it down in the corner despite Graham’s tackle. Crowley had nailed the first two conversions but was off target with this one. Nevertheless, Ireland’s lead was now 19-7 and the game was in danger of slipping away from the Scots.

They were struggling to make headway and Ireland were defending stoutly and on top at the breakdown. Russell couldn’t get going and when Jack Dempsey threw a forward pass to Kyle Steyn it just about summed things up for the Scots.

There was a brief glimmer of hope when Graham hacked on and Kinghorn won the race with Baloucoune for the loose ball just outside the Irish 22 but Josh van der Flier got back to mop things up before Jamison Gibson-Park kicked clear.

The Scots had one more chance before half-time but Kinghorn mis-read Huw Jones’ offload and the ball went to ground as Tuipulotu knocked on. It was the sort of move Scotland have been pulling off all season.

Scotland needed a route back into the game and their forwards provided it. The pressure was building and Ireland were guilty of being offside on more than one occasion. From the subsequent penalty Scotland went through the phases, battering on the door before Russell found the gap with a smart show-and-go to score.

His conversion cut Ireland’s lead to 19-14 but they came hurtling back with their fourth try. Darragh Murray, on as a temporary replacement for Tadhg Beirne, used his two minutes on the field wisely, scoring from close range. Crowley added the extras to restore Ireland’s 12-point advantage.

Scotland didn’t panic and scored their third try soon after through Darge. Steyn made progress down the left wing and then it was all about the forwards’ soft hands. Max Williamson passed to Gilchrist whose offload to Darge was a delight and the Glasgow flanker said thank you very much.

But just like the last time Scotland trimmed the lead to five, Ireland came storming back. This time it was O’Brien doing the damage for their fifth try of the match. Crowley converted and then added a penalty to make it 36-21 with eight minutes remaining.

Ireland were now more than two scores clear and although the Scots tried valiantly to find a way back, when the hosts won a turnover on their own line the crowd roared their approval. They knew the game was up.

O’Brien rubbed salt in Scottish wounds with his second try in the final minute and it was a nightmare for Tuipulotu who dropped Russell’s pass close to his own line. Crowley converted to make it 43-21 and condemn Scotland to a third-place finish. The wait for a major trophy goes on.

Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Osborne, Sheehan, Baloucoune, Murray, O’Brien 2. Cons: Crowley 5. Pens: Crowley.

Scotland: Tries: Graham, Russell, Darge. Cons: Russell 3.

Ireland: J Osborne; R Baloucoune (C Frawley 65), G Ringrose (B Aki 65), S McCloskey, T O’Brien; J Crowley, J Gibson-Park (C Casey 77); T O’Toole (M Milne 65), D Sheehan (R Kelleher, 65), T Furlong (F Bealham 65), J McCarthy (D Murray 65), T Beirne (D Murray 59-61), J Conan, J Van der Flier (N Timoney 53), C Doris .

Scotland: B Kinghorn; D Graham (K Rowe 61; T Jordan 69), H Jones, S Tuipulotu, K Steyn; F Russell, B White (G Horne 61); P Schoeman (R Sutherland 69), G Turner (E Ashman 18), Z Fagerson (D Rae 69), M Williamson (A Craig 61), G Gilchrist, M Fagerson, 7 R Darge, J Dempsey (M Bradbury 61).

Referee: Luke Pearce (Eng).