Scotland stun Ireland at Murrayfield

Stuart Hogg starred in last year’s RBS 6 Nations and he made a flying start to the 2017 Championship with two first-half tries in a thrilling Scotland win at BT Murrayfield. The Frenchman is a clever player and while he is guilty of fading in and out of matches, he is sure to be one of the stars of the tournament.

“We have to make sure our frustration ensures that we don’t repeat the slow start”, said O’Brien.

“The championship now looks like a very tough championship to win”, he reflected. It’s a real strength for the team as we go into the spring and it could also be the undoing of the Scots – they’ll face strong scrums against England and France too.

It was a deserved result in the end as the Scots were clinical in a three-try first half performance, full-back Stuart Hogg’s brilliant brace exposing Ireland’s alarmingly narrow defence and Alex Dunbar’s score straight from a lineout seeing the visitors completely switch off. We haven’t played for a long time and there’s a few changes in there as well since the last time we played.

“When we pull these jerseys on at home, we don’t want to get beat anymore”.

“I think it will validate a lot of the work they have been doing and I’m really happy, it’s quite a nice feeling to be honest”.

Although Ireland kept applying the pressure it was Scotland who took the lead once again when Laidlaw scored a 73rd minute penalty to dent Irish hopes after they were penalised for not releasing on the floor. One score here and we can win the game.’ We breathed life back into them by not putting them away in the 10 minutes after Paddy Jackson’s score.

“There was some good attacking play, my coaches are working hard and finding ways to improve players and I think it’s a great team effort from everyone”.

Laidlaw will head to the Stade de France with added personal incentive – he moves from Gloucester to Clermont at the end of the season.

Head coach Schmidt branded Ireland’s second-half fightback too little too late, admitting the defeat represents a huge dent to any title chances.

Victory saw the England XV surpass the national best of 14 wins in a row they had shared with the 2002-03 side that went on to win the 2003 World Cup.

“We arrived about 15 minutes late and we were late for most things all first half”. It’s just a reflection of how the start of the day went for us.

“Defeat is tough to take but it was always potentially a reality coming here. But at least we have a positive couple of days to look over the game”.

“The championship is still on for us, of course it is – and that’s the mindset and what we have to be going after”.

“Jonny could come into it for next week but the more time Paddy gets in the Six Nations the better he’ll be”, said Schmidt.