The Ireland rugby side got their Six Nations championship campaign off to a promising start after they despatched their Celtic cousins from Scotland in an impressive display at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The Scots had made the trip to Ireland in high hopes of causing an upset and have proved to be Ireland’s bogey team on many occasions over the years.
For much of the early exchanges both sides prodded and probed without really penetrating some stern defensive lines. However, on the verge of half time Ireland got the games first decisive score when Ulster man Andrew Trimble crossed the whitewash to give Ireland some much needed momentum heading into the break. This seemed to be the signal for the whole team to blossom.
Second half tries from, Captain on the day, Heaslip and Rob Kearney were the result of some creative play from the home side. A final score of 28-6 was enough to put Ireland on top of the Six Nations table, courtesy of points difference from Wales and France. The day proved to be a mixed bag for two of the great Irish rugby players. Brian O’Driscoll won his 129th international cap making him Ireland’s most capped player ever while Ireland Captain, Paul O’Connell, had been ruled out prior to the game due a chest infection which handed Heaslip the captaincy.
The eventual convincing victory will have proved to be the perfect start to the reign of Joe Schmidt as he led Ireland into his Six Nations championship match and will boost confidence ahead of the visit of reigning champions Wales to Dublin next Saturday.