Scotland 10-6 Ireland

Scotland secured a dramatic win in the first EMC Test against Ireland at Murrayfield on Saturday, Joe Ansbro’s late score seeing them to victory in a hard-fought, attritional game. It was the London Irish back’s first international try, and came on the back of a superb break and pass from Edinburgh centre Nick De Luca, who had entered the fray as a late replacement. Scotland secured a dramatic win in the first EMC Test against Ireland at Murrayfield on Saturday, Joe Ansbro’s late score seeing them to victory in a hard-fought, attritional game. It was the London Irish back’s first international try, and came on the back of a superb break and pass from Edinburgh centre Nick De Luca, who had entered the fray as a late replacement. Next up for Scotland at Murrayfield are Italy, in the second EMC Test on Saturday 20 August (kick-off 5pm) Scotland made a positive start to the game, Nikki Walker embarking on an ambitious early carve that set the tone for an opening period that bristled with purpose. The Ospreys winger was in the thick of it shortly afterwards, as Scotland built momentum and pressure on the back of a threatening burst from the returning Graeme Morrison. Stand-off Ruaridh Jackson and the evergreen Chris Paterson did well to shuttle possession swiftly right into the path of the onrushing Walker, but the big man couldn’t quite hold onto the ball as the try-line beckoned. Undeterred, Scotland continued to press, and there were tantalising glimpses of the line-breaking ability of Sean Lamont and the combined effectiveness of the Scottish front row, who earned a prompt psychological advantage over their Irish counterparts by forcing a penalty and free-kick in quick succession in the set-piece. It wasn’t all good news for the hosts, however, as Walker hobbled off in the 21st minute to allow Jack Cuthbert the chance to make his Scotland debut. Ireland came more into things in the second quarter, but Scotland were well drilled with their midfield defence particularly impressive. A penalty awarded at the breakdown presented Jonathan Sexton with a straightforward opportunity to notch the first points of the afternoon 33 minutes in, and the Ireland stand-off wasn’t about to look this gift horse in the mouth. Scotland hit back to win a penalty of their own seconds later, and the Murrayfield crowd gave an emphatic endorsement of Jackson’s decision to kick the ball to touch. The home side tried to set up a close-range maul, but struggled to get things going and the chance was gone. Half-time: Scotland 0-3 Ireland Scotland got back on level terms 10 minutes after the interval, finally landing the points their play had promised when Paterson knocked over a penalty from an unchallenging position. The remainder of the third quarter was a largely scrappy affair, neither side putting together much in the way of meaningful attacks. Lamont twice flickered into life, making valuable yards in that typically hard-running style, but a lack of support undermined the efforts of the Scarlets player on both occasions. Ireland regained the lead with 15 minutes left on the clock, Sexton sending over another sweet kick after Scotland were penalised for holding on. Paterson passed up the opportunity to level things up afresh when his own effort drifted wide of the right-hand upright shortly thereafter. Scotland rallied in the closing stages, winning another couple of penalties, both of which they kicked to touch in an effort to turn the screw from the lineout. Neither set-piece worked out exactly as they would have wanted, and the seconds continued to tick away until Ansbro’s dramatic intervention. EMC Man of the Match: Geoff Cross (Scotland) ScotlandChris Paterson (Edinburgh) (Nick De Luca (Edinburgh) 71min); Nikki Walker (Ospreys) (Jack Cuthbert (Bath) 21min), Joe Ansbro (London Irish), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Lamont (Scarlets); Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Lawson (Gloucester, Captain) (Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh) 71min); Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh) (Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester) 59min), Ross Ford (Edinburgh) (Dougie Hall (Glasgow Warriors) 71min), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh), Jim Hamilton (Gloucester) (Al Kellock (Glasgow Warriors) 59min), Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester), Johnnie Beattie (Glasgow Warriors) (David Denton (Edinburgh) 59min), Ross Rennie (Edinburgh) SubstitutesDougie Hall (Glasgow Warriors), Alasdair Dickinson (Sale Sharks), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), David Denton (Edinburgh), Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh), Nick de Luca (Edinburgh), Jack Cuthbert (Bath) IrelandRob Kearney (Leinster); Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Fergus McFadden (Leinster), Paddy Wallace (Ulster), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster) (Felix Jones (Munster) 61min); Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Tomas O’Leary (Munster) (Isaac Boss (Leinster) 61min); Tom Court (Ulster) (Marcus Horan (Munster 62min), Sean Cronin (Leinster) (Jerry Flannery (Munster) 61min), Tony Buckley (Sale Sharks) (John Hayes (Munster 61min), Donnacha Ryan (Munster) (Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster 52min); Leo Cullen (Leinster, Captain) (Mick O’Driscoll (Munster 61min), Mike McCarthy (Connacht), Denis Leamy (Munster), Niall Ronan (Munster) SubstitutesJerry Flannery (Munster), Marcus Horan (Munster), John Hayes (Munster), Mick O’Driscoll (Munster), Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster), Isaac Boss (Leinster), Felix Jones (Munster) Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)