Ireland, for a third time in history, have been crowned back-to-back Six Nations champions, matching the feats of the 1949 and 2015 teams. In an atmosphere reminiscent of past World Cups against French invasions, where the tune of ‘Zombie’ resonated among the exuberant Aviva crowd, Ireland managed to seize the title albeit not in an overly grandiose manner. This victory holds significance following the dashed hopes of consecutive Grand Slams just a week prior, resulting in a subdued euphoria compared to the green blanket of joy that covered Johnny Sexton’s final home game during St Patrick’s Day Grand Slam.
As Peter O’Mahony lifted the prestigious Six Nations trophy, speculation around his future with Irish rugby fuelled, leaving some to wonder whether he would be following Sexton’s footsteps. Although talk about his impending retirement might be too soon, it’s not entirely unfounded as the player himself expressed uncertainty about his future plans, alluding to having serious conversations with family in the forthcoming weeks.
Nevertheless, Ireland proved their worth as defending champions, displaying dominance even superior to their predecessors by losing only one of ten matches across two seasons. Ireland’s points difference compared to other nations further illustrates their powerful performance.
Looking ahead, with a comprehensive series in autumn and a tour to South Africa in the pipeline, the Irish team can now aim to make history by becoming the first to secure a triple consecutive win in the Six Nations Championship. From overcoming a post-Twickenham slump to executing an impressively improved second half, Ireland’s perseverance paid off, despite a nerve racking finish in their final match against Scotland.
Hugo Keenan, typically resilient, was unavailable due to a hip injury for Ireland’s recent game, pushing Jordan Larmour into the starting lineup instead. Taking a lengthy break from Test rugby, Larmour found himself starting in a Test for the first time since July 2021, and his first time as fullback since Twickenham’s pre-pandemic defeat in February 2020.
Despite Keenan’s setback, his absence wouldn’t completely explain Ireland’s lacklustre first half. It seemed as if Ireland was merely going through the process of playing their game, performing most of it against a Scottish defence that appeared quite at ease.
Only two on the backfield were maintained as they occupied the field, safeguarding connections and gaps to thwart any line breaks and demonstrating rapid line speed when defending against Ireland. While Ireland executed some notable starting plays, often having their wingers intervene in the middle, they didn’t progress much beyond that. When not overly horizontal, they tried several interior passes which the Scottish defence saw right through.
Ireland’s ability to clear at the breakdown wasn’t as precise or urgent as usual, preventing them from generating the swift ball required for their style of short-passing rugby. They needed to enforce their maul, apply some pick-and-goes, utilise the largely overlooked blindside, and take the lead in order to bring their rugby into play.
The ambiance reflected Ireland’s flat performance, which wasn’t improved by Matthew Carling’s overly detailed refereeing or the constant scrum resets, however, thankfully only three occurred in the first half. To put it simply, the continuous ramming of green against a blue wall was at the heart of it.
Carley’s initial penalty against Lowe for “crawling” after slipping rather than being tackled set the tone as Finn Russell began the game scoring with a successful 45-meter penalty.
Ireland was saved by good fortune when Lowe’s attempted clearance was blocked by the superb Andy Christie, but the ball managed to cross over the touchline, and Dan Sheahan led a counterattack following Scotland’s tap penalty.
Sheehan’s successful tackle following a blindside move when Ireland opted for the corner marked a stroke of fortune for the team. McCarthy was at the front to connect with the hooker before moving on to their maul. Another lucky stroke presented itself when Scotland altered their lineout, and George Turner’s hurl sailed over Grant Gilchrist directly to Sheehan, who caught it and barrelled past Ben White, landing a score. On another, smoother day, Ireland might have extended their lead, but strong Scottish defences repeatedly thwarted two prolonged Irish attacks. This resulted in Jack Crowley accidentally locating touch-in-goal twice with grubs. The first half concluded with a 7-6 scoreline after Russell netted another penalty.
The second half saw Ireland repeatedly assault the Scottish line, driven by an iconic James Lowe surge, which involved him bouncing two challengers and transferring from a third. Despite their resolute stand, the Scottish team did themselves no favours with self-inflicted blunders, notably Russell’s restart being declared out after another Crowley penalty.
Tadhg Furlong looked set to score from a series of sustained attacks, yet Carley and his team concluded that Zander Fagerson had just nudged the ball before it could be landed. Following Furlong’s exit after an HIA, their dominant scrum maintained power with the introduction of Finlay Bealham from the bench.
The crowd went wild with calls for “Ireland,” echoing The Fields. Henshaw also had his touchdown denied by Cameron Redpath’s exceptional tackle after O’Mahony’s incredible low catch from a Caelan Doris offload. Eventually, multiple infringements led to Ewan Ashman’s banishment, providing Ireland a chance to score from a smart tap penalty variation.
Rónan Kelleher, like Ryan Baird, had an impactful bench appearance, tapping and setting off, but he didn’t look back before allowing Andrew Porter to score the crucial second try against Jack Dempsey’s tackle.
In an intense game of teetering scores, Scotland saw an almost victorious match, but the title once again went to the stellar Irish team. The latter part of the match saw the sinbinning of Harry Byrne who had an upright head-on head hit on Russell. However, due to the lack of intensity, the review did not consider an upgrade.
In the final minutes of the game, Scotland’s Huw Jones cleverly manoeuvred through a fatigued Doris, Henshaw, and Josh van der Flier, enticingly turning Lowe into an easy target. With the score reading a tight three-point game, the idea of Scotland stealing the Irish glory became tangible. However, after a final knock-on and scrum, Lowe ended the game by kicking the ball dead.
The majority of viewers were present for the trophy presentation ceremony, not many stayed for the victory lap though. The Irish team that once again secured their champion status was nothing short of brilliant.
The scoring rundown of the match is as follows: Russell pen at 8 mins (0-3), Sheehan try and Crowley con at 13 mins (7-3), Russell pen at 18 mins (7-6), Crowley pen at 43 mins (10-6), Porter try and Crowley con at 65 mins (17-6), and finally Jones try and Russell con at 77 mins (17-13).
The Ireland team comprised of notable players namely: Hugo Keenan, Calvin Nash, Robbie Henshaw, Bundee Aki, James Lowe from Leinster; Jack Crowley, Peter O’Mahony, and Conor Murray from Munster. The Leinster team had Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Josh van der Flier, and Caelan Doris. The replacement saw Finlay Bealham for Furlong, Rónan Kelleher for Sheehan, Ryan Baird, Garry Ringrose, Jack Conan, Cian Healy for Porter, and Harry Byrne for Larmour. The Munster team had Conor Murray replacing Gibson-Park.
In Scotland, Blair Kinghorn of Toulouse joined the team with Kyle Steyn, Huw Jones, and Stafford McDowall from Glasgow Warriors. Similarly, Duhan van der Merwe from Edinburgh Rugby, Finn Russell from Bath Rugby (who served as co-captain), and Ben White from Toulon were present. Other team members included Pierre Schoeman from Edinburgh Rugby, George Turner and Zander Fagerson from Glasgow Warriors, and Grant Gilchrist from Edinburgh Rugby. The team was completed by Scott Cummings from Glasgow Warriors, Andy Christie from Saracens, Rory Darge from Glasgow Warriors (the other co-captain), and Jack Dempsey from Glasgow Warriors.
The following replacements were made: Ewan Ashman from Edinburgh Rugby replaced Turner, and Rory Sutherland from Oyonnax substituted Schoeman, both at the 49-minute mark. At 62 minutes, Matt Fagerson from Glasgow Warriors took over for Darge, George Horne from Glasgow Warriors came in for White, and Cameron Redpath from Bath Rugby replaced McDowall. Later, Kyle Rowe from Glasgow Warriors subbed in for Kinghorn after 67 minutes, Turner took over from Christie at 68 minutes and Javan Sebastian from Edinburgh Rugby replaced Fagerson at 71 minutes. Sam Skinner from Edinburgh Rugby substituted Cummings at 72 minutes.
Ewan Ashman from Edinburgh Rugby received a yellow card and sat out from the 66th to the 76th minute. The referee for the match was Matthew Carley from England.