Brave Scotland downed by Ireland as hosts retain Six Nations title in Dublin

Townsend’s men put up stern resistance but Irish too strong on home turf

Scotland’s Six Nations campaign has ended with a 17-13 defeat by Ireland in Dublin.

Gregor Townsend’s men hung tough for large parts of the clash with Irish at the Aviva Stadium but finally succumbed to severe pressure in the second half. Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter crossed the whitewash for the Irish, with Jack Crowley booting over seven points as the hosts retained their Six Nations crown. Scotland scored a late try through Huw Jones, while Finn Russell landed two penalties as they picked up a losing bonus point with a brave and improved performance from last weekend’s defeat in Rome.

With Ireland confirmed as Six Nations champions, Scotland will now need to wait for the outcome of France v England at 8pm to discover where they will finish in the final standings. Scotland currently sit second on 12 points, level with England, while France are a point worse off in fourth. Scotland will either finish third or fourth but much will depend on how many bonus points are scored in Lyon.

Earlier in the day, Italy won 24-21 against Wales in Cardiff to secure at least a fifth-placed finish and consign the Welsh to the wooden spoon and five consecutive defeats.