SCOTLAND LOOK LIKE they’re finally about to get some desperately needed momentum into their attack when Peter O’Mahony pounces. 

Scottish scrum-half Ben White scoots away from the ruck in the 27th minute, getting to Finlay Bealham’s outside shoulder and forcing O’Mahony to turn in for the tackle.

O’Mahony lands a strong right shoulder into White but the scrum-half has already popped the ball away to tighthead Zander Fagerson.

Fagerson looks set to rumble forward and make big gains for Scotland but as Sam Prendergast turns in to make a good low tackle on the prop, O’Mahony is quick to redirect his focus.

O’Mahony gives a helping hand to finish the tackle, pushing Fagerson towards the ground as Prendergast fells him, then rapidly shows referee James Doleman that he has released before jackaling.

O’Mahony beats Rory Darge and Rory Sutherland to the ball, getting a firm two-handed grip on it just before they arrive to clear him out.

It’s a wonderfully clean breakdown poach for Ireland on an afternoon when they had a few of them, with Bealham and Jack Conan also providing highlights in this regard. 

Ireland were disappointed to concede a relatively soft try late in the game but their defence had been impressive up until then, regularly denying Scotland time, space, and momentum.

And even in moments when it looked like Scotland’s attack was in promising shape, Ireland tended to recover well. Jamison Gibson-Park’s stunning try-saving tackle on Blair Kinghorn in the second half was the prime example.

Back to the matter at hand, Ireland react well to O’Mahony’s turnover. Having made the tackle on Fagerson, out-half Prendergast is straight back onto his feet and working into the pocket for a clearing kick.

Ireland exited well in this game, generally playing minimal phases before kicking out of their 22.

That was a response to last weekend’s win over England when Ireland overplayed in this area of the pitch and got themselves into trouble a few times. Although there were still a couple of damaging exit failures against the Scots, there was plenty of good stuff.

In this instance, Gibson-Park fires the ball back to Prendergast and he does a fine job of side-stepping the onrushing Darge and blasting a spiral kick deep into Scotland’s half.

It’s slick work from Prendergast as he connects with his spiral and finds grass deep behind the Scottish defence, which has just had to organise itself after the turnover.

Prendergast turns Tom Jordan, who has to work back to retrieve the ball as Calvin Nash and Hugo Keenan sprint flat out on the kick chase.

It’s crucial that there are two Irish chasers, limiting the possibility of Jordan running the ball back out.

Keenan has the infield pass covered as Nash goes after Jordan, getting an excellent block in as he kicks.

Blocked kicks were another prominent feature of Ireland’s play on Sunday, underlining their work-rate and determination to pressurise the Scots.

Ireland have been excellent with this kind of stuff in the opening block of the Six Nations. They have won lots of the moments that don’t really require talent.

Another example is how often they’ve won the ‘scraps’ – loose balls on the ground after aerial contests or handling errors. There is certainly a strategic element to that, with players positioning themselves well to react, but it also illustrates Ireland’s engagement and commitment.

Nash’s block means Scotland still have possession with a lineout but the home side have gone from attacking just outside the Irish 22 to having to exit their own 22 in the space of just 25 seconds.

Scotland opt for a four-man lineout and Ireland keep the pressure on.

Because Scotland win the ball in the middle but use the last man in their lineout to lift at the back, Tadhg Beirne doesn’t have anyone impeding his path to scrum-half White.

So as soon as the ball is delivered off the top by Matt Fagerson, Beirne can race forward and look to swallow White up.

Beirne reads the situation well and though he doesn’t hit White ball-and-all, the scrum-half has to rush his pass.

It’s not the pass White would have wanted to put out in front of number eight Jack Dempsey, allowing him to power onto the ball. Instead, Dempsey has to check and plant his feet to catch the ball first.

And that means Dempsey has no momentum as Ireland hooker Rónan Kelleher races up from his starting position as the ‘tailgunner’ [the defensive receiver or +1] at the back of the Irish lineout.

Kelleher then completes an excellent tackle on his inside shoulder.

Scotland have instantly lost 10 metres on this first phase and the pressure is continuing to mount. 

They decide to box kick off White but he needs to be picture-perfect here given the loss of metres and Ireland’s sense of gathering momentum.

The trajectory of White’s kick is low and with the use of ‘blockers’ ahead of box kicks now strictly prohibited, that allows the hard-working and explosive Andrew Porter to make another superb block.

Porter gets his timing just right as he accelerates at White’s right foot and snaps his arms up and then down into the ball to make a dominant block.

The ball ricochets out into touch so Scotland have another lineout but this is now one they absolutely have to get right.

The Scots go with a slightly complicated 3+1 lineout and Ireland stay on the ground, determined to spoil the ball when it lands.

Ireland’s lineout and maul defence has been perhaps the most impressive aspect of their performances in the Six Nations so far, with forwards coach Paul O’Connell’s plans having a huge effect on limiting Scotland and England’s ability to play.

And we see one of their key tools here as O’Mahony reaches over to grab one of Grant Gilchrist’s arms as he comes to ground from his jump.

This is an instant threat to Scotland’s possession given that Gilchrist doesn’t have total control now.

O’Mahony and Ryan follow up by reaching up and over the other side of Gilchrist, targeting his left arm too.

And while Gilchrist manages to transfer the ball to locking partner Jonny Gray here, it is not a controlled situation for the Scots.

So close to their own tryline, their body language illustrates the unease that Ireland have sown.

Scotland add bodies to what is now a maul but Ireland continue to fight. O’Mahony [yellow below] works hard to open a seam through the front of the maul, while Porter and Ryan drag bodies away on Ireland’s left-hand side as Kelleher and Bealham do similar on the right.

And there’s another panicky moment for Scotland as O’Mahony manages to break through the connection between Gilchrist and Sutherland, his front lifter.

Watch as O’Mahony fights onwards past Gray and onto ball carrier Darge, suddenly threatening a maul turnover.

Darge makes the smart decision to break away from the maul, meaning he can get to ground rather than being choked up.

Referee Doleman communicates as much and Scotland just about survive when it looks like they might concede a scrum turnover for the maul being choked up.

Still, this is not where they want to be. Again, Ireland have dictated the terms as Scotland look to kick clear.

And with Ryan producing a big effort to get to Stafford McDowall’s left foot, threatening another block, he slices the ball into touch.

There is no relief with this kick to touch.

Just over two minutes after O’Mahony’s breakdown turnover down the other end, Scotland are facing exactly the kind of scenario they would have planned to avoid at all costs – an Irish set-piece platform in the Scottish 22.

Ireland have been excellent in these situations this season, relying on close-range set-piece platforms to score tries in the autumn, against England, and versus the Scots.

They use a clever play from the initial lineout in this instance, launching off a maul break, as is now so often the case.

Ireland win the lineout at the front and set up as if to maul but Josh van der Flier instead breaks away and passes infield to James Lowe.

Lowe is Ireland’s left wing so his positioning here is obviously unusual.

With Nash moving out to the left wing, Lowe starts as part of the Irish lineout, as does Gibson-Park, before backing away as the forwards go to win the ball.

This means that Lowe is now very close to the gainline as van der Flier passes to him and we know Lowe is a powerful carrier.

Bundee Aki performed a similar role at the lineout before his try against England, while Ireland backs coach Andrew Goodman previously used backs in this manner for his lineout strikes at Leinster.

So Scotland brace themselves for a Lowe carry, with tailgunner Darge – one of their best tacklers – drawn in onto Lowe.

But just before contact, Lowe drops the ball off to Aki arriving on a short line.

Scotland have to adjust again and Aki dominates the collision with Jordan and McDowall. Darge isn’t in the equation after being drawn in by Lowe, who latches onto Aki to help him eke out a few more metres.

Ireland have won a big gainline on first phase, meaning the Scottish forwards now all have to retreat downfield in order to fold to the far side of the breakdown.

That means less time to set in defence and identify the Irish threats.

Ireland look for the kill on second phase, with Kelleher [red below] running a front-door option off Gibson-Park to fix Scottish defenders close to the breakdown.

Meanwhile, Doris [blue] times his run to swing late out the back of Kelleher.

The second layer of the play involves Robbie Henshaw [yellow above] running a front-door option off Doris as Prendergast [pink] bounces out the back.

As we see below, Gibson-Park and Doris both play out the back.

Scotland centre Huw Jones does a good job of reading out the back of Henshaw onto Prendergast, meaning that right wing Jamie Dobie doesn’t have to completely bite in on Prendergast.

Even still, there’s a chance for Ireland if Prendergast [pink below] can get this ball away to Keenan [orange].

Dobie [black above] has been narrowed up by Ireland’s attack and one of Prendergast’s trademark fizzing passes might send Keenan on a dangerous ‘overs’ line outside Dobie.

Keenan might be able to break for the line himself outside Dobie or draw in last defender Kinghorn and release Nash, who is out of shot near the left touchline.

But Jones just manages to get a hand to the ball in the nick of time as Prendergast looks to put Keenan away.

Jones’ knock-on in the tackle stops this Irish attack but it doesn’t lift the siege as Ireland get a scrum.

And this time, they finish on second phase.

Ireland’s scrum had a strong outing on Sunday, with Prendergast kicking three points from a second-half scrum penalty and two Irish tries coming with penalty advantage playing from the scrum. This is one of them.

Porter did a number on Fagerson at Murrayfield and he gets forward explosively in this instance as Bealham does the same on the other side.

Doleman indicates the advantage and Ireland’s halfbacks snap into action.

Prendergast starts behind the scrum, giving him the option of attacking on either side but Ireland’s scrum win makes his decision for him as the loosehead side swings up.

As Prendergast moves up on his left, Gibson-Park does a typically fine job of scooting off the scrum to engage opposite number White [yellow below] but also attract Jordan’s eyes in onto the ball [blue].

That buys Prendergast more time and space to accelerate to Jordan’s outside shoulder.

Jordan does catch up after belatedly getting his eyes out onto Prendergast but it’s another big gainline win on first phase for Ireland.

Prendergast considers attempting a one-handed offload in behind Dobie to Lowe but wisely holds onto the ball.

White tracks back and looks to target the ball at the breakdown but O’Mahony does an excellent job of removing that threat, while Lowe blasts Dobie away. 

It’s aggressive, accurate breakdown work from the Irish pair to leave the ball on a plate for Gibson-Park.

Again, the Scottish forwards have had to retreat from the set-piece, with the collapsed scrum making their lives even more difficult in this instance.

Because the recycle is so quick, the Scots never really get their fringe defence set and Ireland exploit the situation perfectly.

Doris is the try-scorer here and he shows bullish power to get the job done, but Beirne’s role is important too. 

Beirne [red below] darts at the line close to the ruck, luring Dempsey [yellow] onto the Irish lock initially.

Characteristically, Gibson-Park picks the best option as he fizzes the ball across the face of Beirne to find Doris running into the space outside Dempsey.

Gilchrist [pink above] is still working back and across from the scrum and though he looks to stop Doris along with Dempsey, the Irish captain manages to ground the ball.

It’s ruthless stuff from Ireland as Doris dots down exactly four minutes and 14 seconds after O’Mahony’s turnover just outside the Irish 22.

Prendergast slots the conversion from wide on the left.

With 32 minutes played, Ireland are 17-0 up and Scotland need something of a miracle to pull off a comeback win.

It’s as good as contest over.

Written by Murray Kinsella and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.