Ireland has taken a significant step towards achieving a Grand Slam and securing their spot in the Six Nations 2025 after defeating Scotland in Murrayfield. This win has extended Ireland’s triumph streak over Scotland, with the latter not having beaten them since 2017. Ireland is now the only team with a chance to achieve the Grand Slam, as all other teams have lost at least one match.
The Irish team demonstrated superiority in all phases of the game, capitalizing on the yellow card given to Scotland’s Van der Mewe in the early stages. The Scots suffered another blow when their opening player, Russell, had to withdraw due to a head injury, followed by Dempsey’s withdrawal in the 22nd minute. Despite these setbacks, Scotland managed to score their second essay through Doris in the 31st minute.
As the game progressed, the locals managed to cross the brand line at the end of the first half with an extraordinary essay by Van der Mewe, narrowing the score to 5-17. However, Ireland regained their dominance in the second half, with Scotland only managing to replicate their efforts through two essays by Conan and White in the 60th and 76th minutes, respectively.
Ireland’s victory has earned them an offensive bonus, and they will now face France in Dublin in two weeks. This upcoming match could decide the championship, and if Ireland wins, they would become the first team to achieve three consecutive Grand Slams since the tournament’s current format was introduced in 2000.
The teams’ lineups were as follows: Scotland’s team consisted of Sutherland, Cherry, Zander Fagerson, Jonny Gray, Gilchrist, Matt Fagerson, Darge, Jack Dempsey, White, Russell, Van der Mewe, Jordan, Huw Jones, Graham, and Kinghorn. Ireland’s team included Porter, Kelleher, Bealham, James Ryan, Beirne, Peter O’Mahony, Van Der Flier, Doris, Gibson-Park, Pomast, Lowe, Aki, Hershaw, Nash, and Keenan.
The match’s scorecard was marked by several key moments: Nash’s essay in the 8th minute, Purkey’s blow in the 24th minute, Doris’s essay in the 31st minute, Van der Mewe’s essay in the 41st minute, and Kinghorn’s blows in the 43rd and 49th minutes. The final score was 18-32 in favor of Ireland, with Conan’s essay in the 60th minute and White’s essay in the 76th minute sealing the deal for the Irish team. The referee for the match was James Doceman from New Zealand, who issued a yellow card to Van der Mewe.