The special play try was a crushing blow to Ireland’s hopes.
Midway through the first half, and moments after squandering possession, Simon Zebo was forced to take the ball over the sideline with him and give the Scots a five-metre lineout. As Ross Ford got set to take his throw, backs Alex Dunbar and Tommy Seymour joined the lineout and were not picked up.
Rory Best spotted the development but Tadhg Furlong had his back turned. Ford found Dunbar and his momentum got him over, despite Zebo, Best and Furlong’s desperate efforts. A third Scottish try within 30 shell-shock minutes.
Following the game, Ireland captain Best nobly laid the blame at his own door and that of tighthead prop Furlong. He said:
“I just think that lineout try summed up where we were, myself and Tadhg were a bit behind there, we didn’t quite cover all the bases the way you’ve got to at this level.”
However, Kevin McLaughlin and Donncha O’Callaghan believe Furlong may have been the fall guy. During The Hard Yards podcast, the former Ireland internationals took issue with a complete communication breakdown.
https://soundcloud.com/thehardyardssportsjoe/irelands-fall-bonus-points-and-joes-late-gate-episode-1
McLaughlin felt the responsibility for alerting Best and Furlong to the danger of the backs’ presence in the line should have fallen to a senior player. He said:
“It would have taken only the smallest of adjustments from Ireland – for Tadhg Furlong to stand side-on rather than facing his man – and nothing would have happened there.
“What they have done here is they’ve looked at footage of Ireland defending with [opposition] backs in the lineout and realised Ireland do nothing with them. They’ve thought, ‘There’s potential for a try here’, and they’ve executed it nicely.”
McLaughlin continued, “I actually don’t blame here. That’s where someone with a bit more experience [should alert him]. When I was at Leinster, someone like Shane Jennings would have been screaming, ‘Watch the 12. Watch the 12!’
“It’s the kind of thing you solve on the park.”
Right lads. Everyone marking a Gray brother? We got this.
"Who are those other fellas, boss?"
What other fellas? pic.twitter.com/uvraVBVkFT
— Andy McGeady (@andymcgeady) February 5, 2017
From the screenshot [above], Conor Murray, Zebo and Iain Henderson all have a better vantage point than Furlong. One would expect that at least one of them gave Furlong a holler.
O’Callaghan added, “I’ll be honest, that’s a cheeky move because Ireland are expecting the drive there.”
“It’s one of these ones that come off in the first week of the tournament… it will be so frustrating to Ireland as the game was in the balance at that stage. When those sort of things happen, you sometimes start thinking, ‘Maybe it’s not our day’.”
Ireland fought back to take a 22-21 lead but ended up losing it in the final 10 minutes after conceding silly penalties.
It was not their day.
