Impressive Ireland beat Scotland to win Triple Crown
Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu maintains that it is "not the end for this group" following a disappointing conclusion to their Six Nations campaign in Dublin.
The Scots entered the match aiming for their first Triple Crown since 1990, aware that a victory could also secure their first title since 1999, contingent on France's later result against England on Saturday.
However, Scotland fell behind in the third minute and never led during the match, ultimately losing 43-21.
Ireland, as is often the case in this fixture, dominated the physical contest, extending their winning streak against Scotland to 12 consecutive matches.
"My goal was to lift the Triple Crown and we didn't get there, but there's progress there and I don't feel like it's the end for this group," Tuipulotu said. "This is a good starting point.
"I'm proud of how we stepped up in the second half and got it back to 26-21, but Ireland were deserved winners. Every time we got it back to one score, they hit back. Credit to them."
Ireland beat Scotland to keep title hopes alive
Following a narrow loss in Rome at the start of their campaign, Gregor Townsend's side rebounded with wins against England, Wales, and France.
Tuipulotu asserts that Scotland has undeniably improved throughout the competition despite falling short against Ireland.
"I've seen what's gone in behind the scenes and I'm proud of the boys, how they rallied this championship," he said. "We've definitely made progress, there's no doubt about that."
Townsend faced significant scrutiny after the opening defeat to Italy but concurred with Tuipulotu's view that the tournament has been positive overall for his team.
"The performances we've delivered, especially the three victories, is some of the best rugby I've seen us play," he said.
"Today it's a reminder and a lesson. The lesson is that we have to be better when we do have opportunities. Another game for us to know what works and what we have to lean into more, double down on more.
"There were tactical and technical things we needed to improve on, which we did in the second half and we were going up against an excellent opponent, who were very good today."
After last weekend's thrilling 50-40 win over France, the question was whether Scotland could replicate such a performance at a venue with challenging history.
Townsend remarked that playing perfect rugby in every match is unrealistic.
"Ireland are a very good team," he said. "They have an excellent record here against pretty much every team.
"If you want a perfect performance every week, you're living in fantasy land. We played some excellent rugby but it wasn't enough to win."
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'Physically we cannot compete against Ireland'
Sione Tuipulotu's late mistake led to Ireland's sixth try.
In his pre-match press conference, Tuipulotu emphasized that the team dominating collisions would likely win the game, a view he upheld after the final whistle.
"That first 20 minutes after half-time was really positive, but they won more collision today than we did and that's a big reason why they won the game," he said.
"I don't know why, but they won that area of the game and it went a long way to them winning it."
Statistically, Ireland made 448 meters compared to Scotland's 352 meters and secured seven turnovers against Scotland's one.
Dan Sheehan, Caelan Doris, and Tadhg Beirne were outstanding as Ireland's forward pack outperformed Scotland's throughout the 80 minutes.
Former Scotland prop Peter Wright commented on Ireland's tendency to gain favorable decisions from referees, which he believes contributes to their physical dominance.
"Ireland get away with a lot and if referees let them, they are right to," he said.
"Physically we compete against England and France, but for some reason, we cannot against Ireland."
