Ireland beat Scotland before France win title
Ireland pulled away from Scotland in a pulsating Six Nations Triple Crown decider but their title hopes were ended when France edged out England in an extraordinary final game. In a breathless and full-blooded Dublin encounter, Ireland held off a spirited second-half surge from Scotland - who also entered Saturday dreaming of the championship - to deny Gregor Townsend's side a first Triple Crown since 1990. While a 12th successive loss against Ireland immediately ended Scotland's ambitions, the bonus-point victory moved the Irish three points clear of holders France, who beat England 48-46 in Paris to finish two points clear and retain the title in heart-stopping fashion.
In a raucous Aviva Stadium atmosphere, Ireland full-back Jamie Osborne and Scotland wing Darcy Graham traded early tries before Dan Sheehan and Robert Baloucoune crossed to give the Irish a 19-7 half-time lead. Scotland, who came into the game on the back of a stunning 50-40 victory over France, raised hopes of a first win in Dublin since 2010 when Finn Russell and Rory Darge scored either side of Darragh Murray's bonus-point score for the hosts. But Scotland were left shattered following a rousing finish from Ireland as Tommy O'Brien scored twice to spark ecstatic celebrations and seal a fourth Triple Crown in five years for Andy Farrell's team.
The starting back three of Jamie Osborne, Tommy O'Brien and Rob Baloucoune scored four of Ireland's six tries Given the stakes, a cagey start would have been excused, but these old rivals had other ideas during a thunderously captivating first half. As has often been the case in this fixture recently, Ireland struck first when the in-form Osborne ran in under the posts in the third minute for his fourth try of the tournament. A scrum penalty against Zander Fagerson had given the hosts their platform to attack.
But Scotland scored 40 unanswered points after falling behind against France last week and they were unmoved by Ireland's early salvo as they expertly navigated 19 phases before Graham scampered clear in the corner. Graham was caught offside following the restart, however, and Jack Crowley kicked to the corner, with Sheehan peeling off the resultant maul to score. Scotland again pushed for immediate retaliation, but their momentum was killed when Stuart McCloskey's crunching tackle on Russell turned the ball over in Ireland's favour.
Then, in Ireland's next meaningful attack, McCloskey swung a killer pass out to Baloucoune, who shrugged off Graham to score in the corner. Scotland were unable to narrow the deficit in the second quarter, leaving head coach Gregor Townsend with an enormous half-time team talk. Sione Tuipulotu could not prevent Dan Sheehan going over for Ireland's second try Going into Saturday's game, Ireland were unbeaten in 30 Six Nations home matches when leading at the break, illustrating the scale of Scotland's second-half task.