Ireland Remain On Course

Ireland remain on course for the Triple Crown and championship following their 15-9 victory over a fairly dire Scotland side this afternoon in Lansdowne

Ireland remain on course for the Triple Crown and championship following their 15-9 victory over a fairly dire Scotland side this afternoon in Lansdowne.

Five Ronan O’Gara penalties were enough to secure this victory in a game Ireland led 12-9 at half.

The Scottish line-out was a shambles all day – save for a period in the closing stages and although the final scoreline might suggest the Scots were deserving of something from this game, they weren’t.

In the second half they never looked remotely like scoring and when the English look at the video of this game ahead of next weekend’s decider, they will wonder how they managed to lose to Frank Hadden’s side.

IRELAND: Geordan Murphy (Leicester); Shane Horgan (Lansdowne/Leinster), Brian O’Driscoll (Blackrock College/Leinster) (capt), Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster), Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster); Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster), Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster); Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster), Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster), John Hayes (Bruff/Munster), Malcolm O’Kelly (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Paul O’Connell (Young Munster/Munster), Simon Easterby (Llanelli Scarlets), David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster), Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster).

Replacements: Rory Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Simon Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Mick O’Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster), Eoin Reddan (London Wasps), David Humphreys (Dungannon/Ulster), Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster).

SCOTLAND: Hugo Southwell (Edinburgh Gunners); Chris Paterson (Edinburgh Gunners), Marcus Di Rollo (Edinburgh Gunners), Andrew Henderson (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Lamont (Northampton Saints); Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors), Mike Blair (Edinburgh Gunners); Gavin Kerr (Leeds Tykes), Dougie Hall (Edinburgh Gunners), Bruce Douglas (Border Reivers), Nathan Hines (Perpignan), Scott Murray (Edinburgh Gunners), Jason White (Sale Sharks) (capt), Allister Hogg (Edinburgh Gunners), Simon Taylor (Edinburgh Gunners).

Replacements: Scott Lawson (Glasgow Warriors), Craig Smith (Edinburgh Gunners), Alastair Kellock (Edinburgh Gunners), Jon Petrie (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Cusiter (Border Reivers), Gordon Ross (Leeds Tykes), Simon Webster (Edinburgh Gunners).

Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)