The Scotsman reports
Scots lead eroded by powerful Irish pack
DAVID FERGUSON AT DONNYBROOK
SCOTLAND showed the country's club rugby in a good light last night, but they were left to rue a badly misfiring lineout and a scrum which failed to cope with a powerful Irish pack.

The team showed what they were capable of in an enterprising first quarter and led 10-0 through a try from Mark Robertson, the Melrose winger, converted by Mike Adamson. The Glasgow Hawks full-back had slotted the first points with a penalty and once the try was converted, with 15 minutes played, the noise was building among the Scottish support.

However, concerns over the lineout were also building and, in the 20th minute, Ireland scored through Conor Hartigan when the openside flanker went in by the posts, Gareth Steenson converting. Steenson, the fly-half, then levelled the scores with a penalty.

David Quinlan, the No 8, grabbed a try on the stroke of half-time and Niall O'Brien scored deep into second half injury time, Steenson converting both scores and adding two penalties to one from Adamson.

Gary Parker, the Scotland coach said his back division was the more enterprising when in possession. That's the disappointing thing for us," he said. "We played some good continuity rugby and looked dangerous behind the scrum, but if you don't win your lineout then it's tough. The guys are disappointed, but they've only had four sessions to get it put together.

"There was a lot for them to be proud of overall. If you look at the quality of rugby we were trying to play you can't say we didn't play good rugby. What tonight has shown is that there has to be something put in place to give club players the chance to play at a higher level."

Scorers: Ireland Club XV: Tries: Hartigan, Quinlan, O'Brien; Pens: Steenson 3; Cons: Steenson 2, Delaney. Scotland Club XV: Tries: Robertson; Pens: Adamson 2; Cons: Adamson.

Ireland Club XV: D Hurley; N O'Brien, S Grissing, B O'Donnell, D Keane; G Steenson (Dungannon), F O'Loughlin; N Conlon, M Crockett, S Shaw, M Warburton, D Ryan, P Malone, D Quinlan (capt), C Hartigan. Subs: C O'Boyle for O'Loughlin, G Hurley for Grissing, both 50mins, K Corrigan for Crockett, R Sweeney for Shaw 65, D Delaney for Steenson, K Croke for Malone 71, R McGrath for Maher 73.

Scotland Club XV: M Adamson; M Robertson, J Murray, S Smith, R Couper; M Strang, C Cusiter; B McNeil, W Mitchell, M Low, B MacFarlane, R Maxton, T McVie (capt), A Dunlop, A Martyn. Subs: S Warnock for MacFarlane, S Duffy for Smith, both 40mins, A J Murray for McVie 57, A Macfarlane for Cusiter, R Borthwick for Adamson, both 61, D Cunningham for Mitchell, E McLaren for McNeil, both 72.

Referee: O Gauzere (Fra). Attendance: 1546.

This article was posted on 11-Mar-2006, 08:27 by Hugh Barrow.