Clinical And Composed Ireland Clinch Triple Crown Against Valiant Scotland

A fourth Triple Crown win in five years was Ireland’s reward for a rousing finish to the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, as they scored six tries to beat a silverware-chasing Scotland 43-21 at the Aviva Stadium.

Ireland v Scotland: The Match As-It-Happened

Jamie Osborne’s fourth try of the Championship lit the touchpaper for a brilliant collective performance, which has moved Andy Farrell’s men to the top of the table, giving them a three-point lead ahead of France’s clash with England tonight.

Scotland very much had title hopes of their own. They drew level early on through Darcy Graham, and twice closed the gap to five points during a strength-sapping second half. However, the hosts kicked clear again thanks to a late Tommy O’Brien brace.

Jack Crowley was also in fine form from the kicking tee, his 72nd-minute penalty ensuring a decisive cushion for Ireland before another superb offload from Stuart McCloskey, one of the leading performers again, set up O’Brien’s last-minute run-in.

Captain Caelan Doris was a real talisman for his team as the player-of-the-match, while Tadhg Beirne had a big influence with some momentum-shifting turnovers. Connacht’s Darragh Murray also marked his Six Nations debut with a very well-taken bonus point try.

Farrell’s side built a 19-7 half-time lead, with Dan Sheehan surging over from a 10th-minute maul before Robert Baloucoune’s rapid poacher’s finish in the right corner left a dozen points in it.

Finn Russell provided the inspiration for Scotland with a seven-pointer, 11 minutes after the restart. Crucially, the impressive Murray and O’Brien sandwiched Rory Darge’s 60th-minute effort with scores of their own.

With a rock-solid scrum and the bench providing some timely impact – six replacements came on together just before O’Brien was sent over by the newly-introduced Ciarán Frawley – there was no denying Ireland in front of a buoyant home crowd.

Full report to follow…