Despite going down to a late 10-6 defeat, the positives far outweighed the negatives for the Ireland management after their side’s opening Rugby World Cup warm-up match.
Rob Kearney successfully came through his first 80 minutes of Test rugby since injurying his knee last November, while another long-term absentee, Jerry Flannery, also got a 20-minute run-out at Murrayfield.
Mike McCarthy and Felix Jones made their senior bows for Ireland, with the former showing his versatility in the back row and second row.
A number of untried combinations got an airing and the defence was one of Ireland’s strongest facets of play until a late lapse allowed Scottish centre Joe Ansbro in for the match-winning try.
Jonathan Sexton twice kicked Ireland ahead on the scoreboard and wingers Andrew Trimble and Luke Fitzgerald were prominent, particularly in the first half as the visitors countered from deep.
The work-rate was high throughout and with no injuries picked up, head coach Declan Kidney can be pleased with the Irish display even though the history books will show a loss.
Giving his assessment of the game afterwards, Kidney said: “I am giving players a chance to play their way into the squad and no one let themselves down here. When the tough selection decisions have to be made, we’ll make them
“We didn’t deserve to win this game so fair dues to Scotland. They attacked us and kicked a few balls to touch when they could have taken three points.
“We were in it with a few minutes to go but it’s always disappointing when you lose to a late score. We didn’t have any more ring rust than Scotland so I’ve no excuses as to why we lost.”
He added: “There were some positives, such as the new caps Felix Jones and Mike McCarthy, who both made very good contributions.
“We have a few bangs and knocks which will take a while to recover but we’ll get the fellas up and going again for next weekend.
“We want to get as many players playing as possible, whether that’s in Bordeaux against France (next Saturday) or with their provinces.
“Overall I’m pretty pleased. We had some young players out there and you will only gain experience by playing matches. We have a match under our belts now and in future we’ll gain from that.”
With thousands buying tickets on the day, the kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes. 28,288 spectators turned out at the home of Scottish rugby for this Celtic clash.
There were some crunching tackles early on, and Tomas O’Leary and Kearney had to be on their toes to haul down the fast-breaking Nikki Walker in the fourth minute.
Scotland were on the front foot for long stretches of the first half, but Ireland’s well-drilled defence kept them at bay and Leo Cullen and his forward colleagues got in to disrupt time and again.
The visitors had to scramble to stop a Graeme Morrison-inspired surge close to their sposts, with Sexton and Paddy Wallace standing their ground.
Off the next attack, the covering Kearney read the situation well as he prevented Walker from scoring in the right corner.
Ireland’s first real attack came from deep as Fitzgerald took the ball on, and a neat necklace of passes put Trimble darting into the Scottish half. However, a loose pass was knocked on by Sean Cronin in midfield and Andy Robinson’s men regrouped.
A good turnover from Tom Court allowed Ireland to build from their own half again and Wallace almost combined with Fitzgerald, the inside centre putting through a grubber kick that beat everyone into touch.
Ireland remained strong in defence as the Scots dominated possession. Having soaked up some more pressure, Fitzgerald was given a chance to run along the left touchline. He put boot to ball and was unfortunate that his kick just bounced into touch as he got within 15 metres of the try-line.
Fitzgerald and Kearney were especially hungry for work and the latter, having broken away near the Scottish ten-metre line, was called back for a marginal forward pass from Sexton.
A better slice of territory and decent possession in and around the Scottish 22 yielded a 33rd minute penalty which Sexton stuck over for the opening points.
Scotland were quickly back on the attack. They built up a head of steam after Ross Rennie had charged into the 22, but turned down a kickable penalty and Ireland were able to hold onto their 3-0 lead for half-time.
Johnnie Beattie was swallowed up by Denis Leamy and company as Ireland won a scrum early in the second half. But play was largely scrappy after the break, with both sides struggling to blow off the pre-season cobwebs at times.
Although Trimble and Fitzgerald looked potent, the Irish attacks lacked control and the necessary punch to split open the Scottish defence.
Kidney’s side almost leaked a try in the 48th minute. Fitzgerald kicked straight to Beattie as he tried to launch a kick chase and had the Scotland number 8 passed for the supporting Rennie instead of Geoff Cross, a try looked on the cards.
Still, a successful penalty from Chris Paterson got the hosts off the mark and tied the game at 3-3. The intensity increased as Sean Lamont made a promising line break and O’Leary picked off a superb turnover.
Fitzgerald also did well to scrap for possession after Jim Hamilton was tackled, with Ireland duly winning the penalty.
Quick hands from Fergus McFadden and Wallace released Fitzgerald whose kick forward was gathered and dispatched to touch by Paterson, one of Scotland’s best performers on the day.
For the final quarter, the Irish management emptied the bench with Jones winning his first Test cap and Flannery, Marcus Horan and John Hayes, who was making his 105th appearance for Ireland, forming an all-Munster front row.
It was a new front five as McCarthy had moved to the second row where he was joined by Cullen’s replacement Mick O’Driscoll. Ireland then edged ahead again thanks to a thumping 66th minute kick from Sexton, who was just outside the ten-metre line.
Paterson was off target when trying to reply with a right-sided penalty and with Isaac Boss providing a fast service, the men in green battered away at a Scottish defence that was committed throughout.
Sexton had the accuracy but not the distance when attempting his most difficult penalty of the afternoon, following a scrum infringement by Alasdair Dickinson. With seven minutes left on the clock, would a three-point advantage be enough for Ireland?
The answer was no. Scotland turned down a shot at the posts and although Ireland’s rugged defence kept them out, they managed to conjure up a well-executed try from further out.
Alastair Kellock tapped down a lineout just inside the Irish half and the Scots sent quick ball out to the right. Jackson put Nick De Luca charging through a gap and Ansbro did not have to break stride as he took a looping pass and stepped inside Trimble for the try.
Jackson added the conversion to make it 10-6 and Scotland kept a tight hold of possession thereafter, putting the seal on their first home win over Ireland since the warm-up game prior to the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
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