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Ireland hammer Scotland in perfect start to the World Cup

Ireland put Scotland to the sword in an excellent all-round performance as they got their Rugby W...



Ireland put Scotland to the sword in an excellent all-round performance as they got their Rugby World Cup campaign off to a winning start.

It ended 27-3 to the men in green as they secured a bonus-point victory against Gregor Townsend's side.

Ireland dominated proceedings from early on and James Ryan powered over the line for a try after six minutes.

It didn't take long for Schmidt's side to get on the scoreboard again as Rory Best touched down in the corner off the back of a maul. Sexton missed the conversion but Ireland were up by 12 after 14 minutes.

Scotland got on the board after 21 minutes with a Greig Laidlaw penalty and looked to be getting a foothold in the game.

However, a loose pass from Scotland deep in Irish territory let Andrew Conway hack the ball on. While Stuart Hogg got to the ball first Ireland had a five-metre scrum after the bounced back off the post and Conway tackled Hogg behind his own try line.

Ireland kept the pressure on and Tadhg Furlong got his name on the scoreboard with a try after 25 minutes.

That left it Ireland 19-3 Scotland and that's how it remained at half-time.

When the sides re-emerged the rain was pouring down in Yokohama, with a number of handling errors halting both sides' attacking play.

It was Ireland that got the first points of the second half when Andrew Conway dived over in the corner for the bonus-point try.

With his side well out of reach, Schmidt took off Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton with Luke McGrath and Jack Carty picking up where they left off.

After a period of pressure in Scotland's half, Wayne Barnes awarded Ireland a penalty right in front which Carty duly converted on 67 minutes.

The men in green played to the conditions excellently, sticking to a simple game-plan that proved extremely effective.

Scotland had most of the possession and territory in the last ten minutes or so of the game but failed to get another score.

All in all, it's job very well done for Ireland as the attention now turns to Japan next Saturday at 8.15 am Irish time.

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