SIX NATIONS REVIEW WEEK 2: SCOTLAND V IRELAND

First half was compelling viewing, high on accuracy, low on errors which contributed to entertaining rugby by both teams. The second half was the opposite. Laidlaw, the Scottish captain was clearly not happy with the referee, but he was not the reason Scotland lost another tight game where they dominated possession. Yes, Peter O'Mahoney should have been binned in the first half, either, for his late no arms tackle on Hogg (which may have ended his tournament), or for deliberate hands on ball off his feet 5m from the Irish line. But, No, Romain Poite was not responsible for Scotland gifting Ireland their first try, Seymour overrunning Jones' 2 on 1 pass at the end of the first half or numerous unforced knock ons or forward passes. Ireland got ahead early on (which Scotland needed to do) and never looked like losing, based on excellent defence and a very low error count. Scotland need to play less with their hearts and more with their heads - they ignored at least 3 kickable penalties in the first half, which would have put more pressure on Ireland in the second half, and they gave away silly penalties when under no pressure in the opposition half, allowing Ireland to clear their lines too easily.

Peter gave away his medal to this Irish fan so we forgive him

Scotland appear to have lost Ryan Wilson and (possibly) Stuart Hogg, two key players in key positions, for the France game, which will stretch their resources very thin, and may even impact on Glasgow's progress in the European Champions Cup at end of March. Ireland won ugly, and lost Sexton early on, but scored three tries away from home, conceding only one (an intercept), and are still in the Championship, with only Italy and France up next before Wales decider in Cardiff.