The Scottish rugby team, seeking new revenue streams at Murrayfield, might consider hanging a giant effigy of Peter O'Mahony beneath the East Stand lower tier. Fans would surely queue up to "greet" the scourge of Scotland, potentially generating a considerable income.
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02-11, 2025O'Mahony's influence, or rather the degree to which he grates on the Scots, wasn't as pronounced as usual in Sunday's game. But the presence of the seasoned flanker carries a psychological weight of its own. Ireland once again took up "free residency" in the minds of the Scotland team that day, before proceeding to wreak havoc.
Gregor Townsend has made significant strides with the Scotland team, but against Ireland, the head coach seems to be treading water. In eleven encounters, Scotland has consistently fallen short, with many matches losing suspense prematurely, as was the case again on Sunday. This frustrating predictability is what weighs heaviest on the Scotland team, as there was little surprising about the defeat.
Ireland needed just eight minutes to score at Murrayfield, with a composed Sam Prendergast, afforded ample time and space, exploiting a penalty advantage to send a long pass left to an unmarked Calvin Nash. It was a painfully familiar scene in the bleak history of Scotland versus Ireland, almost predictable by the timetable. In recent years, Dan Sheehan, James Lowe, Robbie Henshaw, Johnny Sexton, James Ryan, and Conor Murray have all breached the Scottish try line early in matches.
Lowe scored in just two minutes at the 2019 World Cup in Paris, Ryan in seven minutes in Yokohama four years ago, and Henshaw in eight minutes at Murrayfield in 2021. All of these scores came no later than the 13th minute and helped Ireland ultimately secure victory. So, when Nash touched down on Sunday, those with decent memories and a pessimistic bent began to lose hope for Townsend's team. The injuries to Finn Russell and Darcy Graham further deepened the gloom of the day. It was the same old story, not quite as bad as Yokohama or Paris, but not far off.
To be 0-17 down after 31 minutes in a home game is humiliating, but the truth is, it could have been worse. Ireland was denied a clear penalty try and was twice held up over the Scottish try line. They didn't just quieten the home crowd; they silenced them. Ireland attacked directly with menace, without too much flourish, without too much elegance, because they simply didn't need it. They simply used powerful players for ferocious carries, constantly driving, driving, and driving again.
The physical power of this Ireland team is matched by the intelligence and game awareness of their leaders. They are a well-oiled, highly efficient machine, possessing immense attrition and resilience. Over the past 11 matches, Scotland has been like a salmon swimming upstream, while Ireland has been like a grizzly bear waiting to pounce at the edge of a waterfall.
Townsend's team thrives on attacking width, relying on quick passes and moments of brilliance from their outstanding attackers to break down opposition defenses, but this rarely works against Ireland. Under Townsend, Scotland has no other option, either to put on a Hollywood-style attacking spectacle or fail completely. Once Ireland takes the lead, they maintain it, that's their style.
More than any other team Scotland plays, Ireland has the ability to suffocate the Scots, rendering their dangerous men irrelevant in their suffocating intensity. Under Townsend, Scotland averages 13 points against South Africa, 18 against Wales, 20 against France and New Zealand, 23 against England, and 27 against Australia. Against Ireland, however, Scotland averages just 12 points, while Ireland averages 26. The 14-point gap on Sunday was entirely consistent with the 11-game average.
Townsend will be criticized for this defeat, not just because they lost (most people predicted Ireland would win), but because they used the same style of rugby that always leads them to lose to Ireland. Under Townsend, Scotland has won five of seven games against England, with one draw. They have beaten France five times and have defeated Wales twice in a row, including two historic away wins. They have a four-wins-from-five record against Australia, and in two tests against the All Blacks, they pushed them all the way, losing by five points once and eight points another time. But against Ireland, it's like a recurring nightmare.
A long list could be drawn up of things Scotland needed to do, and things they couldn't do, but they managed to do almost none of them. Overpowered again, unable to cope with the Irish pressure again, mistake-ridden again. Blair Kinghorn may play for the greatest club in the world, but he wasn't afforded the same protection here as he is in Toulouse. The full-back had his worst day in a Scotland jersey. The talented athlete seems to have an inherent fear of green jerseys, and he isn't the only one.
Scotland needed more aggression, more confrontation, more directness, but they couldn't match Ireland in these areas. They don't have enough heavyweight players, and there's a limit to how "bad" this team can be, and that's part of the problem. Scotland can now beat most nations, or at least compete with them, because their backs can produce moments of devastation, but against the relentless Irish machine, it's a different story altogether.
Townsend sorely missed the dominant presence of captain Sione Tuipulotu in midfield, and you sense he wouldn't have chosen the starting lineup he did if some of his other second-row players hadn't been injured. When they regain fitness, Scott Cummings and Max Williamson, along with Gregor Brown and Cameron Henderson, will be the present and future of the second row.
Scotland needs more thunder, more brute force. To reach the next level, they need monster figures to meet the Irish on the gain line and drive them back. When Grant Gilchrist and Jonny Gray started, they didn't provide enough impact, even though they are both excellent players.
You could also add Andy Onyeama-Christie to the list of warriors who were sorely missed. Whether starting or on the bench, the back-rower is part of the solution. In last year's game in Dublin, which went down to the wire, eventually losing by just four points, the Saracens forward was in great form, completing 31 tackles. So, Scotland has cavalry, but they are all injured right now. We won't see them in this Six Nations, which is painful because they are next away to England, where the chances of Scotland winning five in a row are slim.
However, England isn't Ireland, after all, so the mindset will be different, and hope remains. Scotland won't be beaten before the first whistle at Twickenham, which is what one suspected on Sunday. Yes, they were beaten, and there's no doubt they were overpowered. But you also sensed, more than once, that the game was almost over before it had even begun.
