RUGBY
Scrappy win kickstarts Farrell’s era
By Daire Walsh
IT was a far from perfect display, but the Andy Farrell era did begin with a victory at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday evening.
Under their new head coach, Ireland recorded a 19-12 win at the expense of Scotland to get their Six Nations Championship campaign for 2020 up and running. In his first game as permanent captain of the side, Jonathan Sexton contributed all 19 of Ireland’s points to herald his return to full fitness.
In stark contrast to their pool opener at last year’s World Cup in Japan – where Scotland suffered a comprehensive 27-3 reversal at the hands of the Irish – this was a much tighter affair between Celtic neighbours. Farrell and his squad will return to their Abbotstown base knowing there is scope for improvement ahead of Wales’ visit to Lansdowne Road.
The defending champions – now under the stewardship of Wayne Pivac – secured an emphatic 42-0 triumph over Italy. While the Azzurri are in a difficult place at the moment, the Welsh remain a potent force in top form.
Though Farrell made a couple of tweaks, it was a familiar Irish side that took to the south Dublin field on Saturday. The only difference to the Irish side from their World Cup meeting with Scotland was the inclusion of Rob Herring and Caelan Doris in place of Rory Best and Peter O’Mahony.
Best’s retirement ensured that there was always going to be a change at hooker and his former Ulster understudy was a solid choice at the front of the scrum. Doris was handed his debut on the back of his impressive form for Leinster, but he made way for O’Mahony with just a few minutes gone on the clock.
The Mayo man was one of several walking wounded in the Irish camp, with Garry Ringrose, Dave Kilcoyne and Tadhg Furlong also the subject of enforced withdrawals. Remarkably, Sexton and his opposite number – Adam Hastings – were the only scorers in the action.
Stuart Hogg should have joined Sexton in crossing the whitewash, but inexplicably dropped the ball with the try-line in sight during the third-quarter. A five-pointer in this instance could have had a major bearing on the outcome.
As it was, Sexton’s scoring prowess and an outstanding CJ Stander performance was the main catalyst for Ireland to squeezed through in the end.
It was a successful weekend all round for Irish teams as the union’s U20s and women’s teams also enjoyed wins against their Scottish counterparts. Former Newbridge College student Cian Pendergast missed out on selection for the former, but Noel McNamara’s holders record a stunning 38-26 success at Musgrave Park on Friday night.
Meanwhile, a powerful first-quarter set the tone for the Irish women to secure their first competitive win in almost 12 months at Donnybrook on Sunday. Cliodhna Moloney and Sene Naoupu crossed the whitewash to propel Adam Griggs’ outfit into a 13-point lead during the early exchanges.
A determined Scotland fired back, only for Beibhinn Parsons’ superb intercept try to seal an 18-14 victory on home soil.