Ireland were not at their vintage best against Scotland yesterday, but they still ran out as deserved winners at the Aviva Stadium. While the rugby was not brilliant at times, few could argue that the home side did not do enough to win the game.
Scotland clearly arrived in Dublin with a plan to limit the Irish attack, something they managed to do quite well for large periods of the contest. Their defensive line speed was good, also managing to slow down opposition rucks by competing ferociously at the breakdown.
Ireland struggled to produce the trademark quick attacking play that has made them such a dangerous side over the last couple of years. That was partly down to the opposition, although a lack of execution among the Irish players also played a part.
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Rugby: Finn Russell explains difficult of coming to Aviva Stadium
Scotland have found Dublin an incredibly tough place to visit down through the years, with their last win on Irish soil coming back in 2010. As well as they performed yesterday, it always seemed unlikely that this losing streak would come to an end on this occasion.
The atmosphere in the Aviva Stadium before the game was a jovial one, with many treating this fixture as a homecoming party ahead of a likely championship triumph. While that did change somewhat during a pedestrian first half, the crowd did their part in pushing the home team over the line in the second half.
It has been said that the atmosphere at Lansdowne Road has been poor for many Six Nations games, and while there are certainly issues to be addressed when it comes to things such as ticket distribution, opposition teams do not enjoy visiting the venue.
Speaking after the game, Scotland captain Finn Russell summed up why Dublin is such a difficult place for away teams to play against the current Ireland team.
I think they’re brilliant. They’re probably the best team in the world.
Majority of them probably come from Leinster, so they’re so well aligned. It makes it tough to break them down and find weaknesses in the team.
However, coming to the Aviva when they are have everything on the line, and us putting that performance in. We probably had the chance to… maybe to have won the game if we hadn’t let in a couple of soft tries, maybe we could have won the game, I’m not sure.
I think they are the best team in the world and this is probably the hardest place to come and get a victory.
The quality of the Ireland team is the main reason that Dublin is such a tough place to visit, although it is fair to say that the Irish rugby fans can rise to the occasion when they are called upon.
They have certainly been given plenty to shout about over the last few seasons.
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