Scotland’s Triple Crown game against Ireland “was there to be grabbed” thought Gregor Townsend, and the crushing disappointment was it was the Irish who took an iron grip on it.
The head coach felt the first half of rugby at BT Murrayfield was a top-order contest.
But he conceded there was only one team in it in the second-half. Ireland turned an 8-7 half-time lead into a dominant 22-7 victory, their 12th win in the last 13 tests against the Scots.
It means Ireland will play for a Grand Slam against England next week, while the Scots will seek solace in a likely third place at best against Italy.
“The game was there to be grabbed by one of the two teams, and it was Ireland that grabbed it, which was really disappointing for us,” said Townsend.
“A lot of that first half was at a high level. Probably some of the best rugby we’ve played, because of the quality of the opposition.
“But 40-50 minutes just isn’t good enough. It won’t be good enough against Italy either. They are a very dangerous team with nothing to lose.”
‘There’s a game there that can really trouble Ireland’
The Grand Slam dream is alive! ☘️@IrishRugby win a thunderous Test match in Edinburgh to take a step closer to the title.#AwakenAnticipation | #SCOvIRE pic.twitter.com/mnYgW6lgw5
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 12, 2023
Scotland seem no closer to beating Ireland, but Townsend believes that it’s an execution thing.
“I’d say we are close to working it out, but it’s delivering it that is the (main) part. We showed enough in attack and defence in the first half to know there’s a game there and a playing group there that can really trouble Ireland.
“But you’ve got to do it fo 80 minutes. It’s a similar message to what we gave the players after the New Zealand game last November.
“We played longer at a higher level against them and lost the game. We’d said we had to go out and play our best rugby of that campaign the following week against Argentina.
“That will be the goal again this week against Italy.”
The difference between the sides is Ireland have the knowledge of what to do once they hit the lead, he said.
“We’ve not beaten Ireland for a while, but I don’t think we’ve been ahead to put them under pressure to have to play differently.
“Once they went ahead, they showed the quality team they are. Their confidence and calmness at times is something that we can learn from, something we are striving towards.”
‘Today was a bit mixed’
The report from a battling afternoon at BT Murrayfield.
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— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 12, 2023
Captain Jamie Ritchie’s main emotion was frustration.
“We lacked that finishing touch in the first half and didn’t create as many opportunities in the second,” he said. “They upped their game, we didn’t, and it’s unfortunate.
“I said at the start of the tournament that we wanted five good performances. Today was a bit mixed.”
“(Ireland) are very good, there’s a reason they are No 1 in the world. They are an extremely physical side.
“We’re not done yet. Italy have caused teams problems in this championship. It’s a massive game.”
Richie Gray popped a rib cartilage after just five minutes, while both Stuart Hogg (ankle) and Finn Russell (knee) limped off in the second half. All three will be scanned and assessed.
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