Hugo Keenan’s double helps Ireland march on and knock out Scotland
No one connected with Ireland will be getting ahead of themselves. There is the small matter of a quarter-final against a revitalised New Zealand next weekend and plenty more ferociously hard yards still to cover. But this was yet another of those nights when the world’s number one ranked side more than justified their elevated status and looked every inch a side capable of going all the way.
Never before, certainly, have they reached the knock-out stages of a Rugby World Cup at such a thoroughbred gallop. The All Blacks will ask more demanding questions than a totally outclassed Scotland but the green energy with which Ireland dominated the breakdown and took their fired-up opponents apart was both impressive and, from a Kiwi perspective, rather ominous.
The final scoreline, which also ensured South Africa will face France in the last eight, may give the faint impression of a competitive contest but it was nothing of the kind. A ruthless Ireland were 36-0 up inside an hour, thanks to a brace of tries from Hugo Keenan and one apiece for James Lowe, Iain Henderson, Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose.
With Johnny Sexton also comfortably winning his head to head with Finn Russell, it was a splendid Saturday night for the hordes of Irish fans who had gathered in Paris to roar their heroes home.
Huge numbers had travelled from far and wide to watch. There were shamrock bucket hats paying their lunchtime respects at Oscar Wilde’s memorial in the Père Lachaise graveyard, Connacht jerseys in the sunshine at Republique and pea-green berets at the Gare du Nord. This Irish team is tapping into a wave of popularity that is growing by the year.
Scotland were always going to require something special to end a sequence of eight Test defeats to Ireland stretching back to 2017 but it took only 62 seconds to prick any sense of optimism. A simple midfield bust sent Ringrose through a hole and Mack Hansen released Lowe to score untouched in the left corner.
Almost as significant, perhaps, was Scotland’s failure to score at the other end having built up some useful momentum, with Duhan van der Merwe swamped by the cover. Andy Farrell certainly seemed to see it that way in the Irish coaching box, celebrating this particular little win as if it was the game’s closing act.
Back came Scotland, though, fully aware the first half-hour would be their best chance of rattling their opponents’ composure. They were slick and swift and ambitious but time after time they ran straight into a Parisian cul-de-sac. If their repeated decision to turn down kickable kicks at goal was a declaration of intent it failed to translate into any semblance of scoreboard pressure.
Instead it was Ireland, after one hairy moment when Keenan’s heel slid perilously close to the touchline as he fielded a long kick in his own half, who took the game by the scruff. If it did not help Scotland that their captain Jamie Ritchie was led away prematurely cradling his right arm, they were about to be taught a lesson in rising to the big occasion Never mind that the Scots, just 5-0 down, were still technically in the hunt. What they could not afford was exactly what happened next: one of those cunning little Sexton wraparounds, the creation of an extra man, the transfer to Ringrose and a second Irish try, this time by Keenan in the same left corner. Sexton’s fine angled conversion made it 12-0 after 27 minutes.
Worse was to follow just five minutes later when Iain Henderson crashed over from close range, effectively leaving the Scots needing snookers to qualify. It was too much to ask even of their conductor and creative muse. Russell is swapping Paris for a new start in Bath and this World Cup was an opportunity to make a Finn de siècle exit statement. So much for that fond notion.
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With half-time still a minute away, Ireland pounced for the fourth time with Keenan contributing his second score beneath a hap of dark blue bodies.
At 26-0 with another 40 minutes still left it was already a rout, making it a fitting night for Peter O’Mahony to win his 100th cap. The Munster man has captained the Lions in a Test match in New Zealand but has the look of a man with an even bigger peak still in his sights.
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The same applies to Sexton, still relentlessly competitive at the age of 38. Some might not have reacted so fractiously to a pretty innocuous trip by Ollie Smith, an early replacement for Blair Kinghorn, after the whistle but Sexton is not your average competitor. A large meleé ensued, with Pierre Schoeman and Sheehan dragging each other over the hoardings, and Smith duly saw yellow.
Ireland, never a team to turn down gifts, duly chalked up further scores by Sheehan and Ringrose, despite having been forced to redeploy Jamison Gibson-Park on the wing when Lowe did not reappear for the second half. With Farrell able to empty his bench with the game already won, the last half hour was purely a matter of how much face a chastened Scotland could save. The answer, despite last-quarter tries from Ewan Ashman and Ali Price, was precious little.