Andy Robinson has dogged Scotland moving in the right direction
March 22, 2010
• They were 'tremendous', says Scotland coach
• Declan Kidney bemoans Ireland's poor error count
For Andy Robinson, former maths teacher and born pragmatist, the numbers look a lot better at the end of his first year coaching Scotland than they did at the start. For Declan Kidney, former maths teacher and briefly disillusioned romantic, there are some tough times ahead.
That flipped scenario was not obvious for either going into their contest on Saturday at a venue fit for champions. It was Ireland's 14th match at the home of Gaelic sports before their return to Lansdowne Road and it was not a fond farewell.
Scotland deserved their first win of the 2010 Six Nations. They might have had results against England, Wales and Italy but for a combination of wretched judgment and the doggedness of their opponents. They are a very good team with probably the most efficient pack in the northern hemisphere, a fact disguised by an obsession with things south of the border and some of their own weaknesses – like trouble in scoring tries.
Johnnie Beattie's bustling effort, with three Irishmen on him, was Scotland's third of the tournament; Ireland scored their 10th and 11th, the first a breathtaking effort engineered by Johnny Sexton and finished by Brian O'Driscoll running on to a pass that may have been forward, the second by Tommy Bowe, whose long arm might just have bounced the ball over the line. O'Driscoll looks likely to miss Leinster's Heineken Cup quarter-final against Clermont Auvergne next month after picking up a knee injury.
Ireland deserved those breaks because they played with daring. Whether or not they overdid this against the best defensive side in the competition will be debated. Kidney was staunch in defence of their method. "It's hugely disappointing," he said. "I can't put into words the way we feel. Like everyone else we wanted to leave Croke Park on a good note. You want to win trophies but we didn't. These things happen in life. There were so many people depending on us – supporters and the whole country. It's a very disappointing place to be at the moment but these fellas are very resilient. We made mistakes but we made mistakes trying things. Now we have to work on not making mistakes when the pressure is on.
"We knew we had to go after Scotland. We tried things but they didn't come off. The error count went against us."
It certainly did. As did other statistics, as the former maths teachers will be aware: Ireland put in 100 tackles against England; on Saturday the count was down to 64, with 10 incomplete. Scotland missed four from 73. As Robinson pointed out: "We threw back wave after wave of their attacks. They were tremendous." Scotland won four of their own lineouts and lost one but stole seven of Ireland's 17. That utterly disrupted the Irish rhythm from set play, as did the seven Irish knock-ons in the first half as Scotland harassed them at the breakdown, around the scrum and across the three-quarter line.
The fly-half Dan Parks was superb, winning a third man of the match award in four, ice-like in executing a last-minute penalty from the touchline. If a kick can be beautiful, this one was. He judged the breeze slicing through the open end of the ground to perfection, hitting the ball at a medium-height trajectory maybe 10 metres to the left of the posts and watched with some satisfaction as it corrected its path en route to dissect the space between the uprights.Robinson would have loved the geometry of it.
Saturday's other maths teacher, meanwhile, will not abandon his method or his philosophy. "It's vital that we keep trying things because we won't beat anybody unless we do," Kidney said. "France, for instance, have had an exceptional year but any side can beat any other. That's the good thing about the competition. Every match is a one-off."
Ireland: G Murphy (Leicester; R Kearney, Leinster, 26); T Bowe (Ospreys), B O'Driscoll (capt), G D'Arcy (both Leinster), K Earls (Munster); J Sexton (Leinster; R O'Gara, Munster, 52), T O'Leary (Munster); C Healy (Leinster), R Best (Ulster), J Hayes (Munster; T Buckley, Munster, 78), D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell (both Munster), S Ferris (Ulster), D Wallace (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster).
Tries O'Driscoll, Bowe Cons Sexton, O'Gara Pens Sexton, O'Gara.
Scotland: H Southwell (Stade Français); S Lamont (Scarlets), N De Luca (Edinburgh), G Morrison, M Evans; D Parks (all Glasgow), C Cusiter (capt, Glasgow; M Blair, Edinburgh, 52); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh; A Dickinson, Gloucester, 66), R Ford (Edinburgh; S Lawson, Gloucester, 72), E Murray (Northampton), J Hamilton (Edinburgh; R Gray, Glasgow, 52), A Kellock (Edinburgh), K Brown (Glasgow; A MacDonald, Edinburgh, 26-34; 38-40; 45-58), J Barclay, J Beattie (both Glasgow).
Try Beattie Pens Parks 5 Drop goal Parks.
Referee J Kaplan (South Africa). Attendance 83,000.
Ireland 20-23 Scotland | Six Nations match report
March 20, 2010
Ireland 20-23 Scotland
As Declan Kidney had warned beforehand, the Scots "have a habit of spoiling Irish parties" – and so they did to ruin what proved to be an anti-climactic farewell to Croke Park for their profligate hosts.
In the aftermath of defeat, the coach struggled to keep his emotions in check in acknowledging that Scotland thoroughly deserved a victory that deprived Ireland of their fifth triple crown in seven seasons.
Kidney was devastated. All season – indeed, probably for all his life – he has maintained a Zen-like calm. Not yesterday. Not at this place. Their memories of Croke Park are soured just a little now.
Dan Parks, though, will remember the broad acres here with fondness for the rest of his career.
Not only was he steady and cool in open play, a deserved man of the match for the third time in four matches, but his drop goal on the stroke of half-time and his nerveless penalty in the very final minute to earn Scotland their only win of the tournament were of the highest calibre.
"It was so disappointing," Kidney said, "because of the venue, the result, everything. When you lose your last game, you have to live with it for two months. When we get together again, we'll look to adjust it. These guys give everything. Maybe we were just trying too hard."
For Andy Robinson, victory was all the sweeter for coming at the end of a season in which Scotland had played so well for so little return. "There was a lot of effort in every game this year. After a slow start – and Ireland looked tremendous – we got into the game. I thought the pressure we put on the Irish lineout was good. It was a huge defensive effort against the wave after wave of attacks that were thrown at us."
Ireland won 10 and lost seven of their own throw-ins. And, in the face of fierce tackling, they knocked on seven times in the first half, as well as scoring a spectacular try, straining for the sort of expansive game they hoped would blow the Scots away.
It was a contest overloaded, perhaps, with symbolism and expectations, for Ireland at least, and those twin vices undermined their efficiency.
It's simultaneously discomforting and heartwarming how the previously unthinkable so easily becomes the accepted – rarely more so than on this island, where history can either suffocate or breathe new life into old bones.
And there can be no argument that the whole country has benefited from the most unlikely of sporting marriages: a game imported from a long-ago foe and planted for a little while on turf once stained with the blood of Irish patriots.
And so it was that the spiritual and literal home of Gaelic sport, Croke Park, said goodbye to rugby and the revenue stream the game has brought to GAA coffers, some 21 million Euros over four winters and 14 internationals.
For the most part, the tenancy has coincided with glorious success and some wonderful rugby, none more epic than the day they beat England 43-13 three years ago. Yesterday, though, was about their grab for a trophy, and they stumbled.
It was clear both sides were determined to enjoy the day, as the ball whizzed through hands like pints at a wedding. Early Irish flair paid off with a positively brilliant run-around in centre field by Jonny Sexton, whose swivelling hips took him to within sight of the line before he lobbed a dubious pass with exquisite timing and coolness to Brian O'Driscoll, who strolled over. It was a thing of beauty from start to finish.
What came shortly afterwards was ugly – for Ireland. Kelly Brown busted through some indifferent tackling and, from the ground, found his marauding back-row partner Johnnie Beattie on hand to finish the job with a muscular charge that three Irish defenders were unable to stop. All season Scotland have looked for a cutting edge (this was only their third try of the tournament) and now they had verve and rhythm.
Scotland, surely, are one of the best teams in the history of the championship to flirt with the wooden spoon. They could so easily have won three of their earlier matches to be challenging for higher honours than merely upsetting the Irish.
All Irish dreams, such as they were, of overwhelming the Scots faded like Sexton's two missed penalties either side of half-time, and a sense of foreboding enveloped the ground that even the ritual swelling tones of The Fields Of Athenry could not diminish. When Parks landed his third penalty, Ireland were ten points down with half an hour on the clock, staring at their first home defeat by Scotland since the championship was expanded.
Urgency flooded their every twitch and thrust. Scotland met each assault with the sternness that has characterised their frustrating revival. Ronan O'Gara, on at last for Sexton, found touch near the Scottish 22, and Ireland had swung the ball through four phases before Tommy Bowe stretched the defence and his left arm over the line in the corner, although the ball might have bounced.
Kicking parity was restored – until Rob Kearney held on too long after bringing down a high ball inside his 22 and Parks put the final knife in with the sort of kick that will be replayed for years to come. But maybe not in Dublin.
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Scotland name unchanged team for final Six Nations clash with Ireland
March 17, 2010
• Flanker Kelly Brown expected to be fit for Saturday
• Richie Gray recalled to bench for injured Nathan Hines
Scotland have named an unchanged team for Saturday's final Six Nations match in Ireland. Kelly Brown had been an injury doubt after suffering a clash of heads with the England wing Ugo Monye in last weekend's Calcutta Cup draw at Murrayfield. But the flanker is on course to start at Croke Park.
There are changes on the bench, however, with lock Nathan Hines ruled out due to a knee injury. Richie Gray is recalled among the substitutes. Co-captain Mike Blair and prop Alastair Dickinson have both recovered from concussion and replace Rory Lawson and Geoff Cross, respectively.
Saturday's match is set to be the last ever rugby union match at Croke Park and Scotland's coach, Andy Robinson, said: "I have spoken about the need for us to be consistent and put together back-to-back performances. We did some good things against England last weekend but we have to look for improvements against a well-balanced Ireland team who will be looking to bow out on a high from the final match at Croke Park."
Scotland team to face Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday, 20 March (kick-off 5pm) H Southwell (Stade Français); S Lamont (Scarlets), N De Luca (Edinburgh), G Morrison (Glasgow), M Evans (Glasgow); D Parks (Glasgow), C Cusiter (Glasgow, capt); A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh), E Murray (Northampton), J Hamilton (Edinburgh), A Kellock (Glasgow), K Brown (Glasgow), J Barclay (Glasgow), J Beattie (Glasgow).
Replacements S Lawson (Gloucester), A Dickinson (Gloucester), R Gray (Glasgow), A MacDonald (Edinburgh), M Blair (Edinburgh), P Godman (Edinburgh), S Danielli (Ulster).
