Ireland Under 20s were full value for their 26-18 victory in their final Electric Ireland Six Nations encounter at Donnybrook.
Nigel Carolan’s men trailed 13-12 at the break but rallied, once again in this championship, to win their third game on the bounce.
The Scots went 6-0 ahead after a strong start but Ireland, when they eventually burrowed out of their half, had a fitting response.
Cillian Gallagher claimed an attacking lineout and the ball was transfered to James Ryan. The captain peeled off a shortly formed maul before being held up. Adam McBurney bulled over to finish off the good work.
Scotland steamed back and, for all their brute force, unlocked Ireland with some craft.
A reverse pass from scrum-half Hugh Fraser set winger Darcy Graham up with a one-on-one and his pace, and step, did the rest.
Scotland then coughed up a try to leave it 13-12 at half-time. Out-half Adam Hastings, under no pressure, kicked for touch. Presumably he was going by the clock behind the Scottish posts, which read 40:00. The actual game-time was in the 36th minute.
Ireland won their lineout and quick, passing interchanges set up Ulster winger Jacob Stockdale for a try in the left-hand corner.
Ireland were making mush of Scotland with their rolling maul and an early second half penalty was kicked for the line. A message of intent. The Scots committed bodies to hold the hosts up but did not hold out for long.
Stephen Kerins thought he had touched down at the base of the post but, having come up short, Will Connors pick, went and did the rest. Brett Connon converted to make it 19-13.
Andrew Porter was impressive off the bench and, with him packing down at loosehead, Ireland pummelled the visitors scrum. His impact was clearly seen in the 54th minute penalty try that effectively settled the tie.
George Taylor got a late try for the Scots but Ireland held on for a cosy win.
Hugo Keenan
A live-wire in defence and attack.
The UCD and Leinster winger made a couple of crucial interventions to staunch the Scottish flow, in the first half, and began showing up in attack as the hosts settled and the game wore on.
Brave in the air and with a keen sense of being in the right place at the right time, he could have scored in the corner, just before the break, had he backed himself instead of cutting inside.
Adam McBurney
There was no stopping the Ulster hooker as he battered two Scotsmen out of the way and scored, from all of two yards out, just before the half-hour mark.
His throwing and hooking were solid and he landed successful, hearty hits in double figures. Two of those tackles came within five seconds of each other as it stopped the Scots from getting away up the left.
Looked to have overthrown one near the end of the first half but Cillian Gallagher’s jump may have been poorly timed. Kept up the fight in the second half and won a crucial turnover just outside the Ireland 22.
Rightly awarded man-of-the-match just before the final whistle.
Will Connors
All-action performance from an all-action player. Made a number of good bursts around the corners and troubled the Scottish defence.
Can tackle well on both shoulders and made a couple of vital ankle grabs to halt Scottish momentum. Was rewarded for his efforts with a decent try just after the half-time break.
Conor O’Brien
Looks a decent prospect, this lad.
Has developed a really neat midfield partnership with Shane Daly and it looks like the pair will be Ireland’s go-to [young] men in the World Rugby U20 Championships.
Rarely panics in possession and his timing of passes put a couple of teammates through gaps. Threatened in attack on Ireland’s occasional forays up-field but did his best work snagging Scots in defence.
NOTABLE MENTION
Andrew Porter: Came off the bench to mosh the Scots in the scrum. Won his side a couple of penalties and was key in getting his side their penalty try.
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