4/4 for Ireland! After dominating Wales, France and Italy, the XV of Clover continued its clear round in the Six Nations Tournament by winning at Murrayfield against Scotland (22-7), Sunday 12 March. A success that took shape at the end of the meeting and which puts Jonathan Sexton and his teammates on the royal road to the Grand Slam: they will have to get rid of the XV de la Rose on Saturday March 18 in Dublin - probably still bruised by the slap received against the Blues.
If they succeed, there is no doubt that this victory on Scottish soil will hold a special place in the career of Andy Farrell's men. “To be able to win a Triple Crown [a title awarded to a British team beating the other three in the Tournament] is huge for the Scots, the Irish coach was suspicious during the week. The opposition always have their say, we play against a good team on Sunday. The start of the XV du Chardon match did not prove him wrong.
Transcended by the support of their public, and the prospect still intact before the meeting of winning this edition of the Six Nations, the Scots started at a frantic pace, which put the Irish defense to the torture. As a result, center Huw Jones ended up finding the fault (17th), scoring his fourth try in the competition. Opposite, the green of the Irish tunics seemed very pale. Far from the control displayed against the XV of France, the Irish could not put their game in place and multiplied the approximations.
If only a light rain fell on Murrayfield this Sunday, a massacre of injuries fell on the XV of Clover, darkening their skies even more in the first minutes of the match. Third-line Caelan Doris had to leave first (13th), quickly followed in the infirmary by hooker Dan Sheehan (19th), second-line Iain Henderson (25th), then by replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher at the start second half (49th).
Deprived of a professional number 2 in the field, they had to rely on third-line Josh van der Flier to take the throws into touch in the second act… with variable results.
Ireland ended up accelerating
But nothing seems to be able to reach this Irish team, which has been walking on water for several months and sits at the top of the world rankings. The XV of Clover first reacted by Mack Hansen, author of a corner try (28th), before the other winger James Lowe also went there with his achievement in speed in his lane (57th), at the when his teammates started to accelerate.
The case was definitely heard a few minutes later when third-line Jack Conan scored his third and last try (61st). Jonathan Sexton then took the opportunity to enter a little more the story of a brushed transformation ending his race between the posts: these two points allowed him to return to the height of his illustrious compatriot Ronan O'Gara at the top of the ranking of top scorers in the history of the Six Nations Tournament (557 points).
Another record for the star of the XV of Clover which will be anecdotal next week if the Irish reach their goal and win the competition. Only the Blues can still stop them, but the band of Antoine Dupont will have to win against Wales at all costs, and count on a misstep from Ireland against England.
