By Gary Watton
February 4 2014

It's always great to kick off the Six Nations with a win, go straight to the top of the tree, and remain in the hunt for a potential grand slam or triple crown. I reckon however that a guarded optimism is more in keeping with our fine win against Scotland. It was after all only twelve months ago that the Oirish had a storming triumph in Cardiff and then our campaign fell completely flat. Furthermore, we only have five or six days to prepare for the formidable challenge of Wales, so the odds are certainly not stacked in our favour. 

As for the recent victory over Scotland, the fact that the Scots could only muster six points and failed to reach the try line suggests that they are not exactly world-beaters, so a convincing win against them is perhaps not that convincing after all. However, it is perhaps a testimony to Ireland's defending in the first half and their domination in the second half that the tartan warriors were so thoroughly repelled. Certainly Ireland's opening half hour was considerably subdued. We had to soak up some semblance of Scottish pressure, arising out of their surplus of possession. When we did obtain the ball, we were about as penetrative as they were - in other words, not at all. Philip Matthews was correct when he stated that in the opening exchanges, both teams effectively cancelled each other out.

The stalemate, mate, called for a moment of sheer inspiration and Jonny Sexton duly delivered with a mazy run from his own 22 that almost sent Jamie Heaslip over in the corner. It reminded me of a Keith Crossan burst in 1985 that sent Hugo MacNeill sailing towards the left corner, only to be thwarted by Iwan Tukalo. Although captain Heaslip couldn't quite provide the happy ending on this occasion, subsequent Irish pressure sent Andrew Trimble over on the other flank shortly afterwards. An interval lead of eleven-three was a trifle flattering, but it ensured that Scotland would need to up their game to stay in the contest.

Although the visitors did indeed secure an early penalty after the interval, the Irish finally went up a gear and completely overwhelmed Scotland for the next half hour. The most damning moment of Scotland's poor second half display was when their centre disregarded running options outside of him and launched a kick way out on the full. One can only sympathise with coaches who meticulously prepare their charges for a skirmish, only to watch in horror when someone shoots his team in the foot. Furthermore, Rob Kearney's excellent solo try was largely a result of woeful defending as much as it was a consequence of Rob's pace and power. Surely the first thing that us little nippers are told on the school playing field is to arrest your opponent around the legs. Attempting to tackle the likes of Kearney around the waist was pure laziness and did not legislate for his considerable upper body strength.

Elsewhere, stand-in Jamie Heaslip weighed in with another try, closely assisted by Rory Best. Their collective shove came from another clean line-out catch, and it was most heartening to see the men in green obliterate our opponents at the line out, as well as hold our own in the scrums. Chris Henry put in a good shift as O'Brien's replacement, even though he is a completely different open-side flanker from the marauding Leinster maestro. Toner and Tuohy duly delivered in the line out and O'Mahony put in a number of big hits. Perhaps the highlight was a sensational run from Healy as the artist-cum-prop forward burst through the Scottish ranks as he threatened a marvellous solo try. David Kearney also gave a good account of himself on the wing. Luke Marshall was a willing runner, but on this occasion the Scots kept the young Ulsterman at bay. Similarly O'Driscoll was not his old incisive self, but BOD has become a masterful tackler. Running at Drico is seriously bad for your health.

My only moan is why Paddy Jackson kicked for young Kearney in the corner in the final minute when sustained pressure with ball in hand would surely have created another try. These fancy kicks to the corner are what you do when you've gone through about fifty phases and the opposing defences refuse to be breached. Instead, we battered forward for a couple of minutes and then lost patience - a recurring problem.

To win at all would have represented a good start, but to win by a margin of over twenty points sounds quite impressive. However, I suspect that greater ambushes lie ahead, and the obstacle of Wales will be akin to leaping over Becher's Brook. Bring it on!  

IRELAND 28 Scotland 6; at Lansdowne Road; Sunday 2nd of February 2014

15 Kearney.R [TRY]

14 Trimble [TRY]

13 O'Driscoll

12 Marshall

11 Kearney.D

10 Sexton [3 Penalties, 2 Conversions]

9 Murray

8 Heaslip (captain) [TRY]

7 Henry

6 O'Mahony

5 Tuohy

4 Toner

3 Ross

2 Best

1 Healy