6 Nations Tournament: Ireland wins the 2024 Tournament, the Crunch between France and England will compete for honor

The Ireland of Conor Murray and Jack Crowley can boast: they win the 2024 Tournament without discussion. MAXPPP – Brian Lawless

By winning against Scotland (17-13), the XV du Trèfle celebrated St. Patrick's Day a day in advance, by winning the 2024 Tournament, despite the odds. #39;absence of Grand Slam.  

Ireland defeated Scotland 17-13 to retain their title in the 6 Nations Tournament and overcome the failure of the last World Cup, Saturday in front of its supporters in Dublin.

The XV of Clover celebrated St. Patrick's Day a day early, carried by the incredible energy coming from its forwards and the bays, overheated by the prospect of the double , last achieved in 2017 by England, the only team to have beaten it this year.

The Irish have restored order

The Irish put their house in order, a week after a 23-22 defeat at Twickenham which, by preventing a historic double Grand Slam in the Six Nations, could have derailed the beautiful mechanism put in place by Andy Farrell.

The coach was able to remobilize his troops a second time, five months after the World Cup quarter-final elimination against the New Zealand All Blacks, with a slightly reworked squad.< /p>

🏉 #SixNationsRugby | 🇮🇪 𝗟'𝗜𝗥𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗘 𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗜 𝗗𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗜𝗫 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 !

🏆 Grâce à leur victoire 17-13 face à l'Ecosse, les Irlandais conservent le trophée !

📺 Le direct : https://t.co/uWtZXK5rb4 pic.twitter.com/O6jiI7ryAE

— francetvsport (@francetvsport) March 16, 2024

Peter O'Mahony took up the torch left by the iconic and historic captain Johnny Sexton, surrounded by other strong men: the ball scratcher Joe McCarthy, the bulldozer Aki, the half of scrum Jamison Gibson-Park, the flamboyant wingers Calvin Nash and James Lowe, and the scoring hooker Dan Sheehan.

Heroic Scottish defense

Saturday, the final battle against Scotland delivered all its promises, with a tight scenario (7-6 at half-time), tense and tight until&# 39;at the end.

The visitors tried to slow down the Irish surges as best as possible and they did so with a remarkable, vigilant and resilient defense without often being caught out.

His only mistake before the break, however, was fatal: too long a touch recovered at the end of the lineout by Dan Sheehan, left too alone when registering his fifth try in five matches (13th, 5-0).

The Chardon XV subsequently contained the green waves, tirelessly, as in this Nash offensive dismissed by Andy Christie (53rd), but it ended up cracking under the successive blows.

Pounded, his defense made a mistake. The hooker Ewan Ashman left his partners at fourteen, the Irish played the penalty with their hands and the pillar Andrew Porter flattened, before the transformation of Jack Crowley (65th, 17-6).

The scenario repeated itself, but on the other side: Harry Byrne received a yellow card (76th) and Scotland in took the opportunity to return to 17-13 after a try from Huw Jones converted by Russell against the poles (78th).

Scotland at the level of Italy

The scoreboard did not move again in the final, breathless minutes, and Dublin exploded with joy at the final whistle.

Scotland, third last year, finishes the 2024 Tournament one notch lower, with the same number of points as Italy, fifth.

Finn Russell's partners performed well during this edition, notably against England (30-21), but they ended the campaign with the regrets of the 20-16 defeat against France, conceded with a try controversially refused in the final moments.