Ireland vs Scotland match report: Maverick Ian Madigan proves his worth in Irish victory

Ireland 28 Scotland 22

Ireland’s Chris Henry scores his side’s first try in their World Cup warm-up victory over Scotland in Dublin (PA)

Ian Madigan went up through the gears during the final quarter of this contest as Ireland producing some cutting rugby to see off Scotland in Dublin.

After a sluggish first half, these teams combined to offer up five second-half tries, but it was the final two from Ireland which showcased Madigan’s attacking talents.

Just on the hour mark the Ireland out-half cut a pass that allowed replacement Dave Kearney to hare into the Scottish 22 before the Leinster man got back in possession and stuck a lovely inside ball to Simon Zebo on the angle to give the hosts a 21-15 lead after the conversion.

Just 10 minutes later Madigan produced the moment of the match with an inch-perfect, cross-field kick to Luke Fitzgerald, who grabbed only his third try for Ireland.

Madigan has been a hot topic in the Irish game for more than three years now. One of the most naturally gifted and game-changing players available to coach Joe Schmidt, the Dubliner has been seen by the previous Leinster coach Matt O’Connor as a maverick playmaker who could not always be trusted.

His lack of regular match practice at out-half was evident yesterday and although his passing game is as good as anything Sexton can offer, his kicking out of hand needs to be sharpened by week-in, week-out games at No 10.

Dublin is doing a roaring trade as a cruise destination these days and with two particular mammoth vessels clearly visible from Aviva Stadium’s loftier perches metaphors seemed within easy reach, but maybe a trip on a tugboat would have sufficed for the first hour.

This was Scotland’s first run-out in their build-up to the World Cup, and head coach Vern Cotter, recently inked to a contract extension until 2017, named a strong side.

For Ireland, it was still somewhat of a mixed bag of non-starters and outsiders for the tournament squad. Tommy Bowe, Jared Payne, Mike Ross, Devin Toner and Sean O’Brien were the only starters who can expect to be guaranteed their places.

Still, much was expected after the 35-21 win over Wales in the Millennium Stadium last weekend.

O’Brien captained the team from No 8, becoming the 104th man to lead Ireland in a Test match, but he found little opportunity to show off his destructive running.

Payne was most noticeable in defence – as Richie Vernon will atest to after an early hit – while Ross can be happy that the Irish scrum put their visitors’ set-piece through the mincer at times.

It took 15 minutes for the scoreboard to busy itself and what Ireland’s first try lacked in creativity it packed a punch when it came to sentimentality – flanker Chris Henry barging over in his first Test match since suffering a a mini-stroke in November. The Ulster back row was making up for lost time and was certainly a contender for man of the match.

Madigan politely clipped over the conversion (he kicked four from five). Given Ireland’s intent on kicking every penalty to touch it provided a rare shot at goal for the man vying to win the job as Johnny Sexton’s understudy.

Ireland’s full back for the day Zebo is in a similar boat to Madigan when it comes to convincing his coach that he can be relied upon. There is little doubt that the Munster wing creates a spark between players and supporters with the ball in hand, but it’s about proving he can perform all of the nitty-gritty tasks with the same enthusiasm as his trademark “Z” celebration.

A first-half attack was foiled by Zebo’s effort to swan dive into a ruck and referee Pascal Gauzere (who was fussy throughout) immediately blew his whistle. However, in the second half he showed some quality lines of running which certainly delivered on their menace.

As it was, Scotland’s first entry into the Irish 22 came after 30 minutes of play, but it also brought their first try, when David Denton smashed through an Irish tackler and allowed Ruaridh Jackson to feed Richie Vernon whose light hands out of the contact allowed Blair Cowan to flop over the line.

It was a promising moment from Vernon whose transition from the back row to the outside channel in midfield continues to show promise but remains a work in progress. The Glasgow man was efficient with the ball in hand and even showed some lightness on his feet but never made the kind of break to signal him as a threat for the upcoming World Cup.

Scotland’s second try came shortly after the restart, scrum-half Henry Pyrgos scooting over to escape what resembled a motorway pile-up in the Irish defence.

With just over 30,000 in attendance it was greeted by the kind of applause normally heard after a bogey putt.

However, the crowd turned up the volume after Sean Cronin scrambled over off the back of a maul a few minutes before the hour-mark. Slowly, entertainment was starting to leak into this contest.

The roars got louder still as Paul O’Connell came on for his first taste of summer action, and although Peter Horne’s penalty edged Scotland ahead on 60 minutes it was soon followed by some sumptuous combinations involving Madigan that led to Zebo and Fitzgerald’s tries that sandwiched Horne’s own five-pointer.

Ireland: S Zebo (P Jackson, 78), T Bowe (D Kearney, 61), J Payne, G D’Arcy, L Fitzgerald, I Madigan, I Boss (E Reddan, 67), D Kilcoyne (M Bent, 61), S Cronin (R Strauss, 61), M Ross (N White, 52), D Toner, D Tuohy (P O’Connell, 56), J Conan (J Murphy, 64), C Henry, S O’Brien.

Scotland: R Jackson, S Lamont, R Vernon (M Scott, 61), P Horne, T Visser, G Tonks, H Pyrgos (capt, S Hidalgo-Clyne, 66); R Grant (G Reid, 44), F Brown (R Ford, 52), J Welsh (M Cusack 46), J Hamilton (R Harley, 56), G Gilchrist, B Cowan (J Barclay 58), H Blake, D Denton.

Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)