Ireland have secured top spot in Pool B and their place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals courtesy of a 36-14 victory over Scotland in Saint-Denis this evening.
In what was essentially knockout rugby before the end of the group stage, Ireland outclassed their Six Nations rivals with a statement performance in the first half especially, before seeing out an impressive win which further underlines their status as serious contenders to go all the way and lift the trophy.
However, after topping a daunting pool which contained South Africa and a Scotland side hailed as the best they had ever produced, Ireland face another heavyweight showdown in the quarter-finals with three-time world champions and Pool A runners-up New Zealand awaiting them next week.
For Scotland, their special crop of players must accept another World Cup group-stage exit, having now failed to make it into the knockout rounds in three of the last four tournaments after making it to at least the quarter-finals in each of the first six editions.
Gregor Townsend's side went into the World Cup ranked as the fifth-best team in the world but still only the third-best team in their group, but while they can feel frustrated at being drawn in such a difficult pool, tonight's match outlined the remaining gulf in class between them and the very best.
The rousing national anthems only served to stoke the flames of the hotly-anticipated contest, but it was Ireland who came flying out of the blocks, signalling their intent early when James Lowe scored their fastest-ever Rugby World Cup try after only 62 seconds.
Ireland with a fast start! 💨
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 7, 2023
James Lowe races in for the first try of the evening!#RWC2023 |#IREvSCO pic.twitter.com/XV9KNMm1cz
Scotland initially fought back and had a good spell of possession and territory after falling behind, but Ireland's ferocious defence was unwavering as they prevented Scotland from getting any points on the board during that spell.
After weathering the storm, Ireland showed their opponents how to be clinical in attack as they took the game away from Scotland before half time.
Hugo Keenan went over twice, either side of Iain Henderson's try, to make it 26-0 at the interval - Ireland's biggest-ever World Cup half-time lead over another tier one nation.
For Scotland, meanwhile, it was the first time they had ever conceded four tries in the first half of a World Cup match, and only the second time that they had failed to score a point in the first half of a match in the tournament.
Scotland came out fired up for the second half, and tempers boiled over during a fracas between the sides soon after the restart which saw Ollie Smith sin-binned, compounding their misery.
Schoeman and Sheehan over the barrier ✅
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 7, 2023
Finn Russell loving it ✅
Ollie Smith yellow carded ✅
It's just Ireland v Scotland!#RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/hmgsiTnKIX
Ireland wasted no time in making their advantage count as Dan Sheehan went over, and Garry Ringrose then ran in try number six to extend the lead to 36 points.
There was a brief flurry from Scotland to restore some element of pride as they finally breached the Irish defence when Ewan Ashman and Ali Price both touched down within one minute of each other, but that was all they had to shout about throughout the match.
Ireland comfortably saw out the win to set up the mouth-watering meeting with New Zealand - a repeat of the quarter-final four years ago when the All Blacks came out on top.
However, Ireland's last meetings with the three-time champions saw them win a series in New Zealand, raising hopes that they could make it past the quarter-finals of a World Cup for the first time in their history.
The result also means that South Africa finish as runners-up in Pool B, confirming their quarter-final against hosts France.
Barney Corkhill
