Ireland defeated Scotland to retain the Six Nations title

Ireland retained the Six Nations title as they overcame a heroic defensive effort from Scotland in Dublin.

Scotland defended bravely after the break as Tadhg Furlong and Robbie Henshaw had both ruled out Irish efforts.

Andrew Porter crossed to provide Ireland with bright daylight before Huw Jones gave Scotland late hope.

However, Ireland held their own in the closing moments to defend their crown in a remarkably tense conclusion to their campaign.

The result also ends England's hopes of wresting the title from Ireland before they take on France in Lyon in the final match of the tournament at 8pm GMT.

England ended Ireland's bid to become the first Six Nations team to win back-to-back Grand Slams at Twickenham last week, but by retaining the championship, Andy Farrell's side reaffirmed their status as the leading team in the Northern Hemisphere .

Nervous first half in Dublin

After being humiliated by England last week, Ireland came into Saturday's match in Dublin under increasing pressure as they looked for their sixth Six Nations title, knowing that a win or a draw would be enough to get the job done. clear.

But the pressure showed. Although Sheehan conceded a try from a Scotland lineout, Ireland lacked intensity and struggled to build momentum against a stubborn, well-drilled visiting defense, going in by the narrowest of margins at the break.

Although Scotland were unable to put enough pressure on Ireland's tryline in the opening forty minutes, the away side's defense looked comfortable dealing with Ireland's attacks, gradually sucking the atmosphere out of the Aviva Stadium during a flat, cagey first half .

Scotland came to Dublin hoping to win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1990. With Sheehan's try sandwiched between two Russell penalties, that hope remained intact as the game was on a knife's edge at half-time.

Ireland outlasts the Scots to take the title

Ireland looked very different in the second half, and after a Crowley penalty extended their lead to four, the home fans roared as Furlong drove over the Scottish border at the end of a sustained Irish attack.

The joy was short-lived, however, after the television match official (TMO) ruled that the prop had lost the lead.

As the pressure grew on the Scottish defense, Ireland were further frustrated in their attempts to create bright daylight when Calvin Nash charged towards the line but was held up before dropping the ball.

Another opportunity went begging when a handling error denied Garry Ringrose a try in his first appearance in this year's championship.

Henshaw was also denied a try by the TMO, but after Scotland substitute Ewan Ashman was shown a yellow card following a succession of fouls, Ireland grabbed the elusive second try as Porter pushed his way through.

With mistakes creeping into Scotland's tiring defense and the Fields of Athenry echoing around the stands, it looked like Ireland had done enough to get the win they needed.

However, their path to victory was complicated when replacement defender Harry Byrne was shown a yellow card for his tackle on Russell.

And when Jones broke through to score Scotland's only try, Irish nerves increased again.

However, they were not to be denied and although they had to wait to take the title after beating Scotland on Super Saturday in 2015, they were able to lift the trophy after full-time and start another Irish celebration over the St Patrick's weekend.

This was Ireland's tenth consecutive win over Scotland, and while not as one-sided as their 36-14 win at last year's World Cup, they once again proved too much for Townsend's side.

Despite the ultimate goal of another Slam passing them by, Irish rugby is still in rough health ahead of a two-Test series against world champions South Africa in the summer and an autumn fixture that includes a rematch with the All Blacks, which knocked them out of the competition. World Cup.

This will of course be Farrell's last Six Nations until 2026, with the Englishman taking a leave of absence from his role in Ireland to lead the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia next year.

But given the depth of this Ireland team, regardless of who leads the team for their Six Nations hat-trick bid, it will take a monumental effort from any of their rivals to wrest the title from Dublin.

For Scotland, it is another Six Nations campaign that ultimately ends in disappointment. With their hopes of a first championship win effectively washed away by a shock defeat in Rome last week, they arrived in Dublin hoping to seal the Triple Crown of the professional era.

Townsend said his side needed to produce “something special” to beat Ireland and while their defensive effort was to be admired here, they will have to reflect on what might have been after their impressive two-defeat victory over England.

Setups

Ireland: Larmour; Nash, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe; Crowley, Gibson Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong; McCarthy, Beirne, O'Mahony (captain), Van der Flier, Doris.

Replacements: Kelleher, Healy, Bealham, Baird, Conan, Murray, H Byrne, Ringrose.

Sin bin: H Byrne (76)

Scotland: Kinghorn, Steyn, Jones, McDowall, Van Der Merwe, Russell, White; Schoeman, Turner, Z Fagerson, Gilchrist, Cummings, Christie, Darge, Dempsey.

Replacements: Ashman, Sutherland, Sebastian, Skinner, M Fagerson, Horne, Redpath, Rowe.

Sin bin: Asman (65)

Match officials

Referee: Matthew Carley (English)

Touch judges: Karl Dickson (English) & Christophe Ridley (English)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SA)