Ireland vs Scotland: The moments that made the difference

Reigning 6 nations champions and world number one Ireland, made fairly easy work of Celtic rivals Scotland in the final Pool B fixture of the Rugby World Cup this evening. In a blowout first half performance, the Irish secured the bonus point in victory in the first half, a match that saw them run out comfortable 36-14 win.

Much like any other match, there are always key moments that make a world of a difference in the game, moments that can determine a win or a loss. Today Ultimate Rugby takes a look at some of the key Moments in both halves of action packed rugby. 

1st Minute: James Lowe try

It didn't take much effort from the men in green to score the games opening try through left wing James Lowe. Ireland managed to find mismatches against the Scottish defense that saw forwards defending against backline players, a line break from outside centre Garry Ringrose saw Lowe cross the white wash. 

6th Minute: Doris' breakdown penalty 5m from own line

Five minutes later, Scotland proved that they are as lethal on defense as they are on attack. Irish eight man Caelan Doris won a vital breakdown penalty, that saw Ireland win the turnover. This piece of action was especially vital as it immediately knocked the wind out of Scotlands sails. It wouldn't be until the 60th minute before we saw Scotland show sings of promise.

26th Minute: Aki line break and offload. Keenan try 

Perhaps needing a bit more context, Ireland won their own lineout before sending the ball into the hands of fly-half Johnny Sexton who weaved his way around the backline before finding centre Bundee Aki, who's crisp offload kept a flowing Ireland attack lethal. This resulted in fullback Hugo Keenan scoring the games third try. The Irish would put the game beyond reach, scoring a try to end the half 26-0.

41st Minute: Ollie Smith Yellow

After coming on for Blair Kinghorn, fullback Ollie Smith was sin binned for ten minutes after a malicous play that saw him trip Sexton. With only one minute underway in the first half, a brawl ensued that got extremely messy resulting in referee Nic Berry having a stern concersation with both captains.

52nd Minute: Scotland fumble at the line

Although the Scots would eventually score, it would have come much sooner, particularily in the 52nd minute. After a flurry of phases, Scotland were at the door ready to score, before losing the ball forward in the opposition five.

With match ending pretty one sided, this brings a close to the so called group of death. This means that both Ireland and South Africa will qaulify for the qaurter finals, while Ireland will automatically qaulify for the next world cup. Tonga ends fourth, while Romania will collect the wooden spoon