IRE
No.Name
15Geordan Murphy, -
14Tommy Bowe, -
T
13Brian O'Driscoll, -
T
12Gordon D'Arcy, -
11Keith Earls, -
10Johnny Sexton, -
9Tomas O'Leary, -
1Cian Healy, -
2Rory Best, -
3John Hayes, -
4Donncha O'Callaghan, -
5Paul O'Connell, -
6Stephen Ferris, -
7David Wallace, -
8Jamie Heaslip, -
Replacements
16Sean Cronin, -
17Tony Buckley, -
18Leo Cullen, -
19Shane Jennings, -
20Eoin Reddan, -
21Ronan O'Gara, -
22Rob Kearney, -

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Croke Park
1:00 PM, March 20, 2010
Attendance: 80,313
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

81'20-23 End of half
81'20-23 End of half
81'20-23 End of second half
80'Its a scrum to Scotland and Ireland fiercely compete, but they just can't get there - de Luca hoists the ball long into the stands and Scotland have won their first match of the Six Nations.
80'Player substituted - John Hayes , Ireland
80'Substitute on - Tony Buckley , Ireland
79'Scotland secure the restart and they'll look to run the final moments down now - surely they can't be robbed of another win at the last moment?
79'20-23 Penalty goal - Dan Parks , Scotland
78'It's from the touchline here, out on the left, but what a moment this could be for Parks. He kicks it and as soon as he strikes it, his hands are in the air, he knows he's got it - that was a superb kick.
77'Oh dear oh dear. Kearney secures Dan Parks' high ball inside the 22, but rather than kicking clear or passing to Bowe, he tries to beat Danielli AND de Luca on the outside - he's caught and penalised for holding on.
76'Both teams looking on-edge now, a bit tentaitve at the breakdown - no-one wants to give away a kickable penalty when things are this tight.
76'20-20 Penalty goal - Ronan O'Gara , Ireland
75'Mister 100% is still exactly that, a lovely elegant stroke of the boot to bring Ireland level - great kick.
74'Earls thinks he's away up the left hand touchline from the restart, but he's called back for an O'Connell knock on as he contested the high ball. Murray has a wry smile - it's sort of like a grimace actually - as he's penalised at the scrum and O'Gara has a chance to level things.
74'Player substituted - Sean Lamont , Scotland
74'Substitute on - Simon Danielli , Scotland
74'17-20 Penalty goal - Dan Parks , Scotland
73'No messing from Parks there, he ignores the Irish boos and strokes it over to give Ireland the lead with just six minutes to go.
72'This is a pretty straightforward shot really - just to the left of the posts and not too far out. Crucial kick though.
72'Substitute on - Scott Lawson , Scotland
72'Player substituted - Ross Ford , Scotland
71'Murray looks like a man who might tear his shirt off in Incredible Hulk style in a minute - it's worked for him though, he's won two free kicks and now Scotland have a kickable penalty.
70'Watch out, Murray really means business - he's taken off his scrum cap, which is sort of akin to when Arnie takes off his vest before the final showdown in Predator - it's on now. He'll be happy with that - Scotland win a free kick at the scrum and Lamont breaks up to the halfway line, they move up a few metres and Ireland are penalised for knocking it on.
69'Well, I had a feeling it might happen at some point - Euan Murray, still a bit ticked off at being penalised at the last scrum, gets into some handbags with the Irish front row - Kaplan tells him to calm down, but the Northampton man has the look of a man who'd quite like all the TV cameras to be turned off for a few minutes...
68'Another chance for Ireland just on the Scottish 22, but it's another wonky throw - Rory Best is all at sea at the minute and he's costing Ireland vital chances.
67'Something finally goes right for Ireland at the scrum, Healey putting Murray under pressure and the prop is penalised for boreing in.
66'The Scots have the put-in at the scrum, it's reset, and we'll have a break for some injuries.
66'Player substituted - Allan Jacobsen , Scotland
66'Substitute on - Alasdair Dickinson , Scotland
65'Bowe knocks on from the restart and Scotland have the ball inside the Irish 10m line.
65'17-17 Conversion - Ronan O'Gara , Ireland
64'O'Gara keeps his 100% record up by putting a lovely conversion over from out wide to even the scores with 15 minutes left.
64'15-17 Try - Tommy Bowe , Ireland
63'Ireland have numbers on the right hand side and O'Driscoll delays the pass to D'Arcy - the centre seems to have left Bowe with too much to do, as two men are on him instantly, but he powers through and stretches to touch the ball on the whitewash. The try is instantly given, but I'm not sure if the TMO would have given that if he'd have been asked - it looked like Bowe didnt have that much control of it.
63'Player substituted - Alan MacDonald , Scotland
63'Substitute on - Kelly Brown , Scotland
62'Ireland actually secure their own ball, and O'Leary is so shocked he falls over for no real reason with ball in hand. He recovers though and Ireland can recycle.
61'Another lovely touch kick from O'Gara brings play up to the 22.
60'Scotland look to have some momentum and get up into the Irish half, but Ireland strip the ball and win a penalty for the Scots holding on.
59'Great kick from O'Gara bringing play up for the Irish 22 to the Scottish 10m line. They finally manage to secure their own ball, but it's not straight - I can't remember the last time I saw an Irish lineout perform this badly. It's a credit to the excellent work from the Scots, but O'Connell and O'Callaghan are having a shocker.
58'Now it's Scotland's turn to assert some physical authority with a 15m maul up into the Irish half. A high ball is sent up for de Luca to chase, but he takes out Kearney in the air and it's a penalty to Ireland.
57'Big kick for Parks here, it's in front of the posts but about 50m out. He strikes it well, but it just fades to the right. Kearney clears long up to halfway.
56'I'm sorry, are we watching Wales here? Am I colourblind? Yet another dreadful lineout which Barclay snags at the tail, he bursts up over halfway where Wallace is penalised for hands on the floor.
55'Another poor lineout from O'Connell - as good as he was last week, and he was very good last week, the Lions captain has been poor today. Nick de Luca looks to clear it from the turnover ball but he's barely gained 10 yards.
54'Oh so close, O'Gara puts a lovely inside ball for Bowe who bursts through the gap, pushing up into the 22, but he's snagged, Ireland are getting quick ball here, surely they're going to score. Oh no they aren't D'Arcy is snagged on the left hand touchline and the forwards dive in, turning it over.
53'O'Driscoll sends a lovely grubber through into the 22 and Kearney pressures Southwell into a very poor clearance from an obtuse angle, gaining almost no ground. All of a sudden, Ireland look reinvigourated.
53'Player substituted - Jim Hamilton , Scotland
53'Substitute on - Richie Gray , Scotland
52'O'Leary sends up a box kick from the 22 and Beattie makes a massive hash of the catch in acres of space - he knocks on and the Croke Park crowd are loving that, they're chanting loudly now.
52'Substitute on - Ronan O'Gara , Ireland
52'Player substituted - Johnny Sexton , Ireland
52'Player substituted - Chris Cusiter , Scotland
52'Substitute on - Mike Blair , Scotland
52'10-17 Penalty goal - Johnny Sexton , Ireland
51'He does, just, but that was hardly a moment where the youngster covered himself in glory...
51'Substitute on - Alan MacDonald , Scotland
51'Player substituted - Kelly Brown , Scotland
50'This is absurd - O'Gara is waiting to come on and is in fact 10 metres onto the pitch, but Sexton indicates that he wants to kick the penalty before he goes off - that's really petulant stuff from the young 10, he'd better make this.
49'The maul finally comes down, but it's a penalty for Ireland, offside at the maul.
48'O'Connell finally manages to secure his own ball and Ireland get all Munster on us, rolling the mall up from halfway all the way up to the 22 - that's a real tone-setter.
47'Scotland have been trying to throw it around inside their 22, but only to create space for the clearing kick - not a bad plan the way the Irish lineout is creaking.
47'7-17 Penalty goal - Dan Parks , Scotland
46'A slow deliberate buildup for Parks who stretches Scotland's lead to 10 with a well struck kick from in front of the posts - it's not quite panic stations for Ireland here, but it's getting there...
45'Another pinched lineout after Parks' clearance and Lamont takes the ball in midfield - he's in acres of space and the Scarlets wing isn't brought down until he's just shy of the Irish 10m line. He's snagged but Ireland are penalised for coming in at the side, and Parks will go for goal.
44'Beattie comes in at the front trying to fool the Irish lineout but he's quickly smothered and Scotland are pinned inside their 22 for the first few minutes of this half.
43'Ireland win a tunover just outside the 22, Sexton delays the loop pass to Earls who bursts into the 22, only to be snagged and turned over by the Scottish forwards.
42'These misses could really cost Ireland as Sexton hooks it to the left. We might see O'Gara's steady hand sooner than later at this rate.
41'Cian Healey takes a poor pass from O'Leary - it was at face height from about two feet away - and understandably knocks on, but Scotland are penalised for being offside at the ruck and Sexton will kick for goal from the left-hand touchline.
41'Scotland keep it tight just outside the 22, looking to tempt Ireland into conceding, but Parks is back in the pocket when they don't and strokes a drop goal over to end the half. That's a seven point lead now.
41'+17-14 End of first half
41'+17-14 Drop goal - Dan Parks , Scotland
40'Speaking of Sexton, he bounces the ball and gets us back underway with a long kick that's gathered by Beattie. Sexton sends up a Garryowen and it's gathered unchallenged by Kearney just outside the Scottish 22.
40'Beattie takes it from the base of the scrum and gets a few yards, the big boys push the ball inside the 10m line and Lamont brings play up to just outside the 22 with a nice run.
40'7-14 Start of second half
39'Parks' up and under is very good, it hands long enough to allow Morrison to challenge Kearney, who knocks on giving Scotland a final chance before the half.
38'Ireland look urgent and desperate to have the final word in this half, throwing it around and instantly getting inside the Scottish half, but it's lost forward by O'Connell and Scotland clear.
38'7-11 Penalty goal - Dan Parks , Scotland
37'Ireland look to have turned it over in front of the posts, but O'Callaghan was sealing it off and he's rightly penalised. Parks makes no mistake with the kick and stretch the Scottish lead. Who thought I'd get to say that today?
36'The ball is finally out of the scrum and Scotland look to batter their way through, but there's no delicacy to the play - they're just crashing against a wall of green defenders - as Wales discovered last week, you can't be that predictable against such a potent defence.
35'Substitute on - Kelly Brown , Scotland
35'Player substituted - Alan MacDonald , Scotland
34'Another early hit at the scrum from Ireland, how hard is it to listen to the ref? Scotland signal they want another penalty, they seem to have an edge here. Hayes is going too early almost every time for Ireland and Jonathan Kaplan's all over it, the big Munsterman is rapidly turning into a liability at the scrum today...
33'Scotland keep their momentum up and they're really pounding the contact area, pushing the Irish back - Ireland look to have a turnover 5 metres out but it's knocked on. BOD has decided to have his customary injury scare early today, but he's down for a few seconds and gingerly gets to his feet.
32'Barclay finds himself in some space on the right hand touchline and bursts up to the 22, he offloads to Evans who sends a lovely inside pop to de Luca, who pushes deeper into the Irish 22
31'Scotland look energised by that miss, they secure the restart and start pounding and probing the Irish line, with Lamont and Evans both coming in off their respective wings looking for work.
30'The slight young Leinster halback is having a nightmare with the goalkicking of late, and so it continues, that was from a fair way out, but it couldnt have been more central, he shades it wide though - you just can't miss those in international rugby.
29'Another Irish penalty, just inside the Scottish half but in front of the posts. Scotland were penalised for going in off their feet. Sexton will kick for goal, smart move.
28'Sure enough, Scotland do a great job with the defensive lineout, win the ball and de Luca clears up to halfway - might Ireland regret that? They are still losing...
27'Ireland get some joy at the scrum and win a kickable penalty, but again Sexton kicks for the corner, he was awful from the tee last week, but surely they've got to start taking the points?
27'Player substituted - Geordan Murphy , Ireland
27'Substitute on - Rob Kearney , Ireland
27'Player substituted - Kelly Brown , Scotland
27'Substitute on - Alan MacDonald , Scotland
26'Oh what a waste, Ireland are loose with the ball in possession and Scotland can clear their lines, but de Luca's kick is too long and it rolls over the dead ball line, giving Ireland another platform inside the Scottish half.
25'Ireland have a lineout just outside their 22, O'Leary box kicks from the maul and it's a superb chase from Bowe, who arrives just as Lamont secures it and puts him into touch.
24'Ireland are unrecognisable from the team we've seen for the last few weeks - they're looking to attack from everywhere and running some lovely patterns. Bowe comes off his wing and bursts through a gap, offloading to O'Driscoll just behind the 10m line, but he's snagged.
23'Unfortunately I'm going to have to just waffle at you for a minute, we've entered the first period of mindlessly resetted scrums, but at least it's only three times...
21'Sexton kicks for the corner and O'Connell makes no mistake with the lineout inside the 22, but Tommy Bowe knocks the ball on as he runs onto it to waste the opportunity.
20'Ireland manage to secure their own ball but Sexton nearly gives Scotland another chance, throwing a pass to no-one that de Luca only just fails to get to. They kick long and Southwell is penalised for not releasing just inside the Scottish half.
19'This is crazy stuff, almost like a Sevens game - Barclay knocks it on in the tackle just outside the Irish 22 and the Irish backs immediately counter, shipping it out to Earls who shows great pace on the left hand touchline to beat the defender on the outside - he's nearly clean through but he's snagged, who offloads to D'Arcy, who's also tackled, who throws a speculative offload behind him that's knocked on by Scotland.
18'Ireland aren't having much joy with the scrum today and they're penalised just inside the Scottish half.
17'Well, I feel bad about saying that this was unlikely to be a tryfest, we've got two already and both seems look set on throwing it around and keeping it in hand, great stuff. Scotland nearly have another break from the kickoff and Morrison latches on to a bouncing ball, but can only offload to O'Connell.
16'It's a hard touchline conversion for Parks and he just sends it wide.
16'7-8 Try - Johnnie Beattie , Scotland
15'A try for the Scots, the first they've scored since the Wales game! Ford winds a turnover and he offloads to Morrison at the 10m line who finds himself in acres of space on the right hand touchline, he makes it up to the 22 and offloads to the supporting Beattie, he looks like he's going to be stopped short, but somehow the big Glasgow number eight drags three tacklers over from about five metres out to touch down.
13'Now it's Scotland's turn to steal a lineout, with Hamilton pinching it at the front very cleanly. It's on the floor and just as the Scots look to attack, O'Callaghan hacks it back and the danger is averted.
12'Big chase from Max Evans from the kickoff, but he just knocks the ball into touch on the right hand side.
12'7-3 Conversion - Johnny Sexton , Ireland
11'Sexton can't miss from there and he doesn't.
11'5-3 Try - Brian O'Driscoll , Ireland
10'First stolen lineout ball and Ireland are really trying to keep it in hand here. Sexton runs the loop, evades a few tacklers and bursts up into the 22, he sucks in the tackler before passing it to O'Driscoll who runs in under the posts - a gorgeous opening score there and some lovely gliding running from the young fly-half.
9'The ball is recycled and David Wallace bursts up the touchline with his electric pace but he's just in touch.
8'The battle of the lineouts is going with the throw so far - O'Callaghan takes it off the top inside the Irish half and wilky soft hands from the backs finds Murphy in space on the left wing.
7'Scotland win a free kick at the scrum, but Parks' clearance doesn't find touch - it could be dangerous but Murphy kicks it back and the fly half calls the mark.
6'Earls takes a lovely late pass from Sexton just outside the Irish 22, he gets over the gain line and offloads to O'Connell, who bursts up to a few metres shy of the line, but Ireland knock on as they recycle.
6'0-3 Penalty goal - Dan Parks , Scotland
5'SImple chip from in front of the posts and Parks gives Scotland the lead. Worrying for Ireland though, they fell foul of the South African referee's interpretation at the breakdown, and they have again.
4'Ireland are penalised for an early hit at the scrum and Scotland take a tap and go, Barclay nearly bursts through inside the five but is smothered and we'll go back for a penalty in front of the posts, Paul O'Connell didn't release Ford before competing.
3'Solid work at the lineout and it's mauled up a few metres before Sexton clears, he's pressured and it's partially charged down by de Luca, it falls into Earls' hands and he's on his own just inside the 22, but his offload to Best is knocked on. If Earls had got to his feet then he might have been away...
2'First scrum test for Ireland as they have an early put-in, they just hold on to it and Sexton takes it at first reciever, initiates the loop with D'Arcy, but the young fly-half knocks it on and fumbles. Dan Parks clears it and my, my what a kick, a full 70 metres and out at the 22.
1'Well, what a fantastic game - Dan Parks the clear man of the match, kicking a superb winning penalty - and the Scotland players are jubilant, dancing on the pitch and who can blame them? Ireland on the other hand look completely shellshocked - they opened their Croke Park stay with a last gap loss, and so they have closed it. They'll be devastated, but the game was a great sendoff to the fantastic stadium - competative, entertaining and physical. Dan Parks notes to the BBC - "We came to spoil the party and we did." No arguments, the Irish never saw Scotland coming, it was a truly brilliant 80-minute performance, whereas Ireland were far from their clinical, mistake-free best. That said, if young Jonny Sexton had kicked his points, then Ireland would have won. Hats off to Scotland, they're doing a lap of honour and so they should. They've played so well at times in this tournament, they deserved something to show for it. Ireland however will have much to ponder - the O'Gara/Sexton question for one, and whether their usually dominant defence can adjust to Southern Hemisphere refereeing - two weeks on the bounce now, they've been absolutely slaughtered at the breakdown and given away loads of penalties. Against Wales last week they were too far ahead for it to cost them, but as today proved, they won't always be so lucky. Thanks for joining me today, and indeed throughout the tournament, be sure to stick around for the climax of today's festivities where the now-confirmed Champions France will look to put a Grand Slam gloss on things against England.
1'Well, who saw that coming? Both sides have abandoned the conservative gameplans that they've adopted up to now in the tournament and it's been a very entertaining half. The big surprise though is that scoreline - the Scots lead by a converted try and they've played much better than they have since the Wales game. Hats off to Dan Parks, Graeme Morrison and the Killer Bees - Barclay, Beattie and Brown who have bossed the game so far. Ireland haven't played badly at all so far though, but they've fallen fould of Jonathan Kaplan's whistle a bit too much, have lacked intensity at the breakdown at times, are creaking at the scrum, and are even looking a bit dodgy at the lineout. While I want to have an open game, Ireland's devil-may-care attitude is hurting them a tad and they maybe need to calm it down a little bit - they're not finishing off the chances, and knocking it on at crucial times - very un-Irelandish. There's a suspicion that Sexton's offload to O'Driscoll for his try and the video seems to indicate it was, so Ireland can consider themselves fortunate they're only seven points behind, but they still have it all to do. The BBC has just revealed that Jonathan Sexton has a 36% kicking success ratio - Ronan O'Gara's in 100% by the by. That is just unacceptable at this level, for all his excellent running abilities, he's got to work on that if he wants to keep that 10 jersey, or he'll find himself in a James Hook situation, and I don't think he's big enough to play centre...
1'Dan Parks kicks long to get us started but Ireland secure it and set off with ball in hand up to the 10m line - nice early endeavour from the hosts there, looking to keep it in hand. Tommy Bowe comes off his wing and takes it at pace, he runs between the centres at halfway and looks to offloads to Earls, but he knocks it on. That could have been an early score there, Earls was in acres of space.
1'Afternoon all, Josh Gardner here and I'll be guiding you through the second of this afternoon's Six Nations matches, Ireland v Scotland from Croke Park. As ever you can get in touch with us via Twitter, your thoughts are, of course, always welcome. It's a familiar story for Ireland this afternoon, with the hope of a Grand Slam gone, they must content themselves with the consolation prize of a Triple Crown by beating the Scots today. Don't forget, there's also the outside chance of retaining the championship, should England pull off an upset at the Stade De France later on today. The final impetus, and one that has been built up greatly over the last few days, is that after four years, Ireland are playing their final rugby game at the magnificent Croke Park. The atmosphere inside this cathedral of Gaelic sport has been incredible, and the Irish team will be desperate to end on a high before they move to the redeveloped Lansdowne Road (or the Aviva Stadium as it's going to be rather less excitingly known...). Scotland on the other hand will be wondering what might have been. This might well have been the most frustrating tournament in recent memory - they've played well and should have beaten, Wales, Italy and England, last week, but instead there's a big fat donut in the win column and they need a win today to avoid the Wooden Spoon. It's a big ask for Andy Robinson's men, but they'll be so determined to give their efforts this tournament a proper ending. 16.51 The Irish team, led, of course by Brian O'Driscoll walk out onto the pitch and 80,000 voices roar in approval. There really is no place like Croke in all of sports, and while the Aviva Stadium looks like another stunning piece of engineering, with just 50,000 people there it just won't be the same will it? 16.55 We're just waiting for the anthems now, and I don't know about you, but I'm in a pretty good mood. Wales played like a professional rugby teams and not like a bunch of lads who'd one a drinking competition on St Mary's St to play rugby for Wales, and there's still two matches to go - great stuff. That said, I'm hardly expecting a tryfest this afternoon given the way both teams have played recently. It's going to be physical, it's going to be brutal and it's going to be tight - it could come down to who is the most clinical with their chances. 16.58 The teams line up for the anthems, and those who've been following my commentaries over the tournament will be aware of my bugbear of the 'lineup mic' to hear all the players singing - it puts paid to the legend of Wales being a land of song I'll tell you that - but fair play to the Scots, they were mostly very tuneful - even the props! 16.59 John Hayes has his critics, and believe me, I'm often one of them, but no-one can doubt the man's passion and commitment to Ireland and how much he loves that green shirt, he's sung it over 100 times now and he looks as emotional as he did on his first cap 17.00 I would tell you about team changes, but both sides are in the rare position of being unchanges from last week, and we're about to get underway.
1'0-0 Start of first half

Six Nations 2010 News