Rugby World Cup 2019: Ireland put down marker with ruthless win over Scotland

Ireland 27-3 Scotland: The world's number one side proved far too good for the Scots in the Pool A clash

This was the performance Ireland needed. This was the result they had hoped for. After so much talk of whether they would be able to effectively compete at this year’s World Cup, following an indifferent 12 months on the pitch, Joe Schmidt’s men stepped up to the mark. Blowing away their Scottish rivals in the whipping rain here at Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium, the Irish delivered in style.

The 27-3 victory confirmed what Ireland are capable of, even with the absence of numerous key players in the shape of Rob Kearney and Keith Earls. It was a performance built on so many of their trademark qualities: physical dominance at the set-piece, a firm, resolute defence, an attritional forward line, accurate kicking and clinical ruthlessness.

Scotland, as a result, were unable to produce the sort of attacking rugby that, in the past, has caused this Irish team trouble. The threat of Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland and Finn Russell were all nullified as they struggled to breakdown the resilient green wall that bore down on them from start to finish. The Scots looked lifeless, lacking any real urgency or aggression.

Instead, it was the boot and brains of Conor Murray, the physical prowess of James Ryan and CJ Stander, and the speed and precision of Andrew Conway and Jacob Stockdale which will be remembered from this encounter.

Ireland’s presence up front and their rock-solid set-piece proved the initial launchpad for this display, with forwards Ryan, Rory Best and Tadhg Furlong all crashing over the white line after spells of Irish pressure.

The first came from a simple Murray chip-and-chase. That break saw Ireland camped out on the edge of the Scottish try line, before Ryan wiggled through to score. The second, coming seven minutes later, saw Best surge over this time after a rolling Irish maul pushed back Scotland’s fragile defence down in the left-hand corner. As for the third, it was bread-and-butter stuff from Ireland. Off an Irish scrum, the ball was recycled through two phases, culminating in Furlong’s barrelling effort from two yards out.

In return, the Scots were only able to offer a solitary penalty kick from Greig Laidlaw. A late surge in the first half promised to yield some points but an injury to Hamish Watson, with the forward being carried off on the stretcher van, took the sting out of Scotland’s momentum.

The second half restarted amid deteriorating weather conditions. Ireland seized the initiative in the pouring rain, looking to target their opponents with repeated high ball. It reaped rich rewards in the form of a deserved Conway try. Off a punishing kick from Murray, the Dark Blues fumbled possession in their 22, with Jordan Larmour pouncing on the loose ball. He set up Conway to his right who, putting his quick feet to good use, danced past two Scottish players before finding the white line down on the right.

Scotland enjoyed a brief resurgence around the 50th minute, as they slowly built their way up into Ireland’s final quarter, but a dropped ball from John Barclay took the wind out of their sails. It was a moment which summed up Scotland’s evening. Even with substitute Tadhg Beirne’s late yellow card, the Scots proved unable to add to Laidlaw’s first-half kick.

Making the most of the poor weather conditions, it was an Irish performance that fizzed with intelligent, free-flowing rugby. Injuries to Peter O'Mahony and Bundee Aki will be of concern, both men forced off after Head Injury Assessments (HIAs), while Josh Van Der Flier was forced out late on. But on the back of this encouraging performance, Schmidt’s men stand in fine stead looking forward to the tougher challenges that will inevitably come their way.