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 No 1-ranked side more than justified their elevated status and looked every inch a team capable of going all the way.
Never before, certainly, have they reached the knockout 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 sapped their opponents’ spirits 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 special Saturday night for the hordes of Irish fans who had gathered in Paris to roar their heroes home.
As the Pogues, the Cranberries and U2 blasted out after the final whistle, it was as if half of Ireland had decamped to France. There were shamrock bucket hats paying their lunchtime respects at Oscar Wilde’s memorial in the Père Lachaise cemetery, Connacht jerseys in the sunshine at République 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.
And on the field they are now blowing teams away, so much so that Scotland’s Gregor Townsend believes this might be just the start. “The way Irish rugby is set up they could dominate world rugby for the next five to 10 years,” suggested Townsend. “It’s probably the best I’ve seen them play. If they [continue to] play like that they’ll be difficult to beat.”
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 just 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.
Scotland, fully aware the first half-hour would be their best chance of rattling their opponents’ composure, tried their hardest to respond, turning down kickable shots at goal in pursuit of tries. They moved the ball swiftly enough but time after time the outstanding Ireland defence forced them down a Parisian cul-de-sac. “Everyone says defence wins World Cups,” said Andy Farrell afterwards. “It certainly won us the first half, that’s for sure.”
Instead, after one hairy moment when Keenan’s heel slid perilously close to the touchline as he fielded a long kick in his own half, it was Ireland who took the game by the scruff. If it did not help Scotland that their captain, Jamie Ritchie, was led away prematurely with a shoulder injury, 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 Scotland needing snookers to qualify. Even that faint hope had evaporated, before half-time, after Ireland pounced for the fourth time, Keenan contributing his second score beneath a heap 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 melee 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, chalked up further scores by Sheehan and Ringrose, despite having been forced to redeploy Jamison Gibson-Park on the wing after Lowe was forced off with a swollen eye. 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.
