Ireland power through Scotland to stay unbeaten with Prendergast to the fore

The song remains the same for Scotland. The sound of bagpipes had drifted around Murrayfield, Flower of Scotland was belted out with customary passion, and the inspirational figure of Chris Hoy even delivered the match ball. But when showtime arrived Ireland, yet again, were simply too good, too physical, too precise. The reigning champions recorded an 11th straight victory over Scotland and they are two from two, topping the table ahead of France and England, pleasingly poised for a third straight title.

There had been a sense of triumph in the way Hoy, diagnosed with terminal cancer last year, made his way on to the pitch before kick-off to a stirring reception from the Scottish crowd. Hope existed among those fans that this might, finally, be their day against the Irish. And while there were flashes of brilliance, particularly Duhan van der Merwe’s stunning finish before half-time, Scotland’s talented back line is still not complemented by a forward pack that can compete with the very best.

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It did not help that Scotland lost their fly-half, Finn Russell, and the lightning quick wing Darcy Graham to an early clash of heads. But there was inaccuracy from the hosts too, while the scrums brought seemingly endless pain against a relentless Ireland front five. Sam Prendergast is quickly growing into the role of Test fly-half, too, kicking 12 points while prompting his teammates’ movement with intelligent and skilful distribution.

The early signs were ominous for Scotland. After a powerful first scrum, the Irish pack rumbled downfield in the manner of a freshly serviced threshing machine. The blend of power in contact and precision of handling was too much, and Prendergast did not need the vision of a genius to spot Calvin Nash lurking in space on the right. Still, he floated a fine long pass to the man who replaced the injured Mack Hansen on the eve of the match, and the champions were up and running, more so when Prendergast added a sweet conversion.

There was some desperate defending for Gregor Townsend’s men to do in the first quarter. Twice Ireland were held up when over the try line, the second a heroic effort by Rory Darge, but green waves kept crashing over them. The Scottish scrum was creaking and the dynamism of Ireland’s movement and passing at close quarters had clicked straight into gear.

It got worse when Van der Merwe was sent to the sin bin for blocking Nash in the corner. When Scotland did finally threaten to build something in the visitors’ 22, some fine counter-rucking led by Jack Conan swiftly turned the ball over for Ireland. The hosts did soon get a breather from Irish relentlessness although not how they would have hoped. A clash of heads between Russell and Graham led to a long delay, Graham coming off worse and leaving the field on a stretcher. Russell also departed for a head injury assessment, never to return.

Ireland’s dominance was underlined by the second try, scored by Caelan Doris, after another crushing scrum was followed by a darting run by the scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, who in turn fed Prendergast, before the captain crashed over for the visitors. Combined with a Prendergast penalty that had come before the score, the lead was 17-0.

Enter Van der Merwe, then, back from his enforced break, to apply a scintillating diving finish in the corner after being fed by a fine offload by Stafford McDowall, on for Russell. The roar was as loud, perhaps louder, as it had been when Hoy entered the field before kick-off and Scotland refused to give up hope, even if they trailed by 12 points at the break. But in truth it could have been considerably worse.

When Huw Jones and Kinghorn combined to roar into space soon after half-time, Ireland were wobbling slightly, and the home fans were disgusted by a decision not to penalise Robbie Henshaw for what may have been seen as a deliberate knock-on with the Scots threatening the try line. Eventually Scotland settled for a penalty, kicked by Kinghorn, and it was a six-point game with half an hour to go – but Simon Easterby’s side swiftly reasserted themselves.

Nifty footwork by James Lowe allowed him to skip away from Kinghorn for Ireland’s third try, and the fourth, bonus-point-clinching score was secured after some brilliant work by Gibson-Park, his perceptive kick ahead gathered by Keenan, nearly under the sticks. The ball was quickly sent right by Gibson-Park, playing penalty advantage, for Conan to crash over. Ben White reduced the deficit with a sniping score inside the final five minutes, Kinghorn converting, but the game was long gone by then.