Ireland celebrate against Scotland

Ireland 27-3 Scotland: Rugby World Cup match report, highlights and scorers

By Press Association

Rugby Union

Sun September 22, 2019 · 5y ago

Ireland opened their World Cup campaign with a thumping 27-3 win over Scotland.

Ireland 27-3 Scotland

Ireland tryscorers: Ryan, Best, Furlong, Conway
Ireland conversions: Sexton, Murray
Ireland penatlies: Carty

Scotland penalties: Laidlaw

Match highlights

Ireland v Scotland (27-3) | Rugby World Cup 2019 Highlights

Match report

Ireland delivered on their promise to hit form when it mattered most by stunning Scotland 27-3 with a bonus-point blitz to launch their Japanese World Cup quest in style.

James Ryan, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Conway all crossed in Yokohama as Ireland made good on all their pre-tournament pledges.

Ireland's muscle-bound victory hands Joe Schmidt's men a fine chance to top Pool A and book a likely quarter-final battle with South Africa, following the Springboks' loss to New Zealand.

Ireland entered the tournament as the world's top-ranked team for the first time in history, but were also dogged by the spectre of their record 57-15 defeat by England at Twickenham just last month.

Head coach Schmidt's tournament plans had been heavily scrutinised, Rory Best's captaincy had been questioned, and Ireland were left to lament a second frustrating loss to England in the calendar year.

All boss Schmidt's plans came to fruition on the shores of Tokyo Bay however, with skipper Best leading from the front with a timeless, tub-thumping, try-scoring turn.

Ireland will move on to face hosts Japan in Shizuoka on Saturday feeling fully vindicated in their preparations, boasting a spring in their step and a zip in their play.

Schmidt's men entered this clash missing backline stalwarts Rob Kearney and Keith Earls through injury, but their understudies Jordan Larmour and Conway excelled in a hugely-comprehensive Ireland performance.

Scotland's wretched afternoon was worsened all the more by a nasty-looking knee injury to Hamish Watson, that could well end his tournament.

Watson's left knee buckled amid a robust but legal double ruck cleanout from Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong, with the Edinburgh flanker immediately letting out a blood-curdling scream clearly audible on the referee mic feed.

Scotland face Samoa in Kobe on Monday, and it would seem highly likely they will do so without the accomplished but luckless Watson.

Ireland's Peter O'Mahony and Bundee Aki did not return after Head Injury Assessments (HIAs) and Josh Van Der Flier was forced out late on, with all three now doubts to face Japan.

Johnny Sexton handed goal-kicking duties to Conor Murray, perhaps hampered by a minor leg niggle. Ireland withdrew their premier playmaker right after the fourth try, clearly protecting the British and Irish Lions star for later in the tournament.

Ireland blasted into the Scots from the very first second, attacking in relentless waves and denying Gregor Townsend's men any foothold.

A smartly-angled lineout drive allowed Best to break blind and Murray to chip in behind. Iain Henderson ploughed right over Stuart McInally to bust a midfield cavern and set camp on the Scotland tryline.

Two tight phases later, and Ryan burrowed home to hand Schmidt's men the dream start.

Garry Ringrose then scythed down Stuart Hogg in midfield, Aki latched on for the turnover and Ireland were back on the attack.

WP Nel was pinged for side entry from the resulting penalty lineout and Sexton punted to the corner for another fine platform. And Ireland's flawless lineout catch-and-drive flattened the Scots, with skipper Best rising last from the pile for his 11th Test try.

Finn Russell finally put Scotland on the board on the quarter-hour with a penalty goal, but Gregor Townsend's men were never able to settle.

Tommy Seymour knocked on in midfield, Conway fly-hacked deep and the loose ball rebounded off the post. Hogg scooped up but was duly hauled back over his line by Conway, handing Ireland a five-metre scrum.

CJ Stander powered off the set-piece to put Ireland in touching distance again, and Furlong busted in for the third try - all inside the half-hour.

Murray slotted the conversion to post a lead of 19-3 that Ireland took into the break, their scrum-half shanking a penalty shot on the stroke of half-time.

No fourth score before the turnaround, but Ireland still had time for Stander to race past an unguarded Scotland ruck, and for Jacob Stockdale to chip and chase 40 yards down an unguarded blindside off a scrum.

A neat steal in Ireland's 22 secured Scotland a fine scoring chance after the break, only for John Barclay to knock on cheaply.

That mistake allowed Ireland to regain the momentum, with Conway the chief beneficiary when racing in at the right corner for a smart finish.

Four tries and the bonus point inside the hour, and boss Schmidt had seen enough: Sexton was withdrawn, with his replacement Jack Carty posting a late penalty in a comfortable cameo.

Match reaction

Joe Schmidt has admitted Ireland's six-day turnaround to face hosts Japan at the World Cup is a "frustration" that leaves head injury doubts Peter O'Mahony and Bundee Aki struggling to be available for selection.

Flanker O'Mahony and centre Aki failed Head Injury Assessments (HIAs) in Ireland's stunning 27-3 bonus-point win over Scotland in Yokohama on Sunday.

Head coach Schmidt revealed neither Ireland star was showing any concussion symptoms after their opening Pool A encounter - but was left to lament the coupling of a six-day return-to-play process with the same length of time to his side's next match.

Johnny Sexton, Josh Van Der Flier and Tadhg Furlong were all brought off early but Schmidt said none had sustained injuries, leaving the concerns over O'Mahony and Aki to rankle with Ireland's Kiwi head coach.

"Tadhg is fine, Johnny is fine we just decided to bring him off and Conor (Murray) off," said Schmidt.

"We had two HIAs, in Bundee and Pete. They are both symptom-free at the moment, that's reassuring, but we've got to go through the process.

"They failed HIA one, so they've got to go through HIA two and three to determine whether or not they have a concussion.

"Beyond that, the minimum time you can turn around a player is six days. So we'll look at how that pans out over the next probably 48 hours when they do their HIA two and HIA three."

Asked if the short gap between Ireland's opening two World Cup matches could now become problematic, Schmidt continued: "It's a frustration for everyone, because everyone knows they are going to have some tight turnarounds.

"I know for the Russians they are back out on Tuesday (after playing Japan on Friday night), so that is a real difficulty for them.

"I thought they were incredibly good on Friday evening, the way they threw themselves into the game, and a couple of their players really impressed.

"So for us we've just got to accept it's a six-day turnaround and manage our squad as best we can."

James Ryan, Rory Best, Furlong and Andrew Conway all crossed in Yokohama as Ireland made good on all their pre-tournament pledges to hit form at the perfect time.

Ireland made a mockery of their record 57-15 loss to England at Twickenham just last month by tearing through sorry Scotland, who were left to lick their wounds and staring down a tough battle to reach the quarter-finals.

Conway and Jordan Larmour impressed in Ireland's re-jigged backfield, with experienced duo Rob Kearney and Keith Earls missing through injury.

In the wake of victory, Schmidt was able to point to the positives of Kearney, Earls and playmaker Joey Carbery all inching back to match fitness.

"It was great what happened this week (with injuries) to a degree, because Rob Kearney, Keith Earls, Joey Carbery; they're all training really well," said Schmidt.

"So we've got them hopefully on an upswing for Japan. But you never take anything for granted, we'll only get two trainings - Tuesday and Thursday - because we travel tomorrow."

Dejected Scotland boss Gregor Townsend was left to chart his side's way back into this tournament, that must start by finding greater accuracy and physicality.

"We would have needed to win our next three games, whatever the result today," said Townsend.

"We can bounce back and play a lot better against Samoa, then carry that into Russia and especially Japan, who have started the tournament well.

"This was hugely disappointing; we didn't start with any of the energy, accuracy, and aggression required to beat a team like Ireland.

"They started very well and took their chances when they got into their 22. If you give them a 15 to 20 point start it's going to be very difficult to come back."

Player ratings

IRELAND:

JORDAN LARMOUR: Tore into Scotland with ball in hand and proved his Test class and then some: 8/10

ANDREW CONWAY: One dropped ball aside this was a stunning performance stepping into the breach left by the injured Keith Earls: 8

GARRY RINGROSE: Hugely impressive in living up to the hype that the Ireland management put on him: 8

BUNDEE AKI: Potent force in midfield until forced off with a head injury issue: 7

JACOB STOCKDALE: A constant menace when on the ball and a very solid showing: 7

JOHNNY SEXTON: Easing back to his best and all at the right time: 8

CONOR MURRAY: A hugely reassuring showing from the Rolls Royce half-back: 9

CIAN HEALY: Brutal in both tight and loose and a thorn Scotland could not shake: 8

RORY BEST: Banished any and all question marks about his leadership with a typically gritty showing: 8

TADHG FURLONG: The tryscoring prop bullied the Scots all day long and continues to get better and better: 8

IAIN HENDERSON: Fully justified his selection with several barnstorming runs and fine poise: 8

JAMES RYAN: The increasingly influential Leinster youngster is now one of the first names on the team sheet: 9

PETER O'MAHONY: Head issue cut short what was to that point a very solid effort: 7

JOSH VAN DER FLIER: Put himself about all day and again delivered on what was asked: 8

CJ STANDER: Back to his bullish, line breaking best, and Scotland had no answers: 8

Replacements: Joe Schmidt emptied his bench and all of his men in reserve stood tall, but most of all centre Chris Farrell who showed just why he forced his way into the World Cup 31. 6

James Ryan - continues to impress

SCOTLAND

STUART HOGG: Looked like he meant business early but soon forced into fire-fighting mode as the game got away from Scotland. Was dumped back over his own try-line by Stockdale moments before Ireland pounced for their second try. 5

TOMMY SEYMOUR: One short burst down the wing came to nothing. Was grateful that Hogg got back to save the day after dropping a pass from Russell. 5

DUNCAN TAYLOR: Gregor Townsend was hoping for big things from the Saracens man but he was overrun in the midfield by Ringrose and Aki. 4

SAM JOHNSON: The Glasgow centre had to produce a big tackle on Stockdale as Ireland threatened to run riot before the break. Put up a fight late on. 6

SEAN MAITLAND: Usually defensively sound but found himself grasping at shadows as World Cup debutant Conway danced past him on the wing. 5

FINN RUSSELL: The Racing 92 maverick has recently bigged up the improvements in his kicking game but Ireland were wise to most of his ploys. 5

GREIG LAIDLAW: Scotland's scrum-half was outshone by Murray as his opposite number orchestrated a comprehensive win. 5

ALLAN DELL: Carried with intent on a couple of occasions but did not do enough to prevent Ireland getting on the front foot in the loose. 5

STUART McINALLY: The new skipper promised to lead by example but let Iain Henderson give him the slip in the lead up to Ireland's opening try. 5

WP NEL: The Edinburgh prop stood up to Cian Healy at scrum-time and made himself a nuisance at the breakdown. 6

GRANT GILCHRIST: Lobbed a forward pass to Johnson just as Scotland looked set to get something going late in the first half. 5

JONNY GRAY: Carried with purpose as he always does but too few of his team-mates matched his physicality levels. 5

JOHN BARCLAY: Another whose concentration levels wavered as he let Stander to burst through after switching off at a ruck before coughing up the ball as Scotland looked to mount a fightback just after the interval. 5

HAMISH WATSON: Let out an almighty scream just before half-time as his knee got caught in a tangle of legs at the breakdown. A worrying sight for Townsend as he was taken off on a stretcher. 5

RYAN WILSON: Failed to keep hold of a high ball as the rain came down in the second half and Ireland took advantage when Conway crossed for number four. 5

Replacements: Hooker Fraser Brown replaced the injured Watson in the back row as Scotland sought to boost their physicality levels. Darcy Graham and Chris Harris provided some go forward late on but it was not enough to prevent a painful defeat. 5