On Saturday the Hive Stadium witnessed a classic as Scotland battled all the way and scored a winning try with the clock in the red to defeat Ireland 26-19.
The result came in round five of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations and the hosts had to battle so hard for this one with a lack of possession and two yellow cards to contend with, but they managed to come through it 26-19 with a bonus point.
With the last play of the game winger Francesca McGhie went in at the corner to spart wild scenes from the majority of the 6,375 crowd inside the ground and stand-off Helen Nelson knocked over the tough conversion for good measure.
Highlights and details can be found here.
Here are five talking points from the game…
The try just before half-time was key
Scotland had been defending for most of the first half, but were only 7-5 down thanks to a try from hooker Lana Skeldon. With the break approaching, Ireland were on the attack, but second-row Sarah Bonar intercepted a pass, kicked it up field and winger Rhona Lloyd chased well. A few phases later centre Emma Orr went over for a score and stand-off Helen Nelson converted and somehow the Scots were 12-7 up.
The defence was immense
There is no doubt that any good rugby team and any good rugby victory is built on strong defence and Scotland defence coach Tyrone Holmes must be a happy man because the squad defended for their lives here. In total the players made 229 tackles to 78 by their opponents and they held Ireland up over the try line a number of times too. Ireland could have been out of sight here, but the hosts never took a backwards step.
Four players made over 20 tackles
To build on the previous point, individually players were flying about all over the place to make their tackles. Player of the match Rachel McLachlan led the way with a mind blowing 29, tighthead prop Elliann Clarke made 24, second-row Jade Konkel also made 24 and hooker Lana Skeldon made 22. A lot of them were big hits too and that led to Ireland making handling errors when they were in good positions.
Rachel Malcolm makes this squad tick
Whatever she says to her players out there on the pitch it seems to work because there were times when Scotland looked out on their feet here and pretty much down and out, but they kept picking themselves back up and going again. A captain in rugby is so important and Malcolm embodies everything that is good about this squad in terms of passion, heart, work rate and talent.
6,375 people won’t forget this one in a hurry
Sometimes you go to matches and a few days later they have been consigned to the back of your mind, but this one will stick in the minds of everyone who was there to see it. Yes, the Ireland fans will still be scratching their heads wondering how they lost it, but their team played their part in an epic and for Scotland this will leave everyone excited ahead of the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
England defeated France 43-42 in another epic on Saturday at Allianz Stadium Twickenham to clinch the Grand Slam. The tournament will finish on Sunday when Italy face Wales at 11.30am UK time.
Scotland squad that played Ireland: Chloe Rollie; Rhona Lloyd, Emma Orr, Lisa Thomson, Francesca McGhie; Helen Nelson, Leia Brebner-Holden; Leah Bartlett, Lana Skeldon, Elliann Clarke, Jade Konkel, Sarah Bonar, Rachel Malcolm (C), Rachel McLachlan, Evie Gallagher. Subs: Elis Martin, Anne Young, Molly Poolman, Becky Boyd, Gemma Bell, Rhea Clarke, Evie Wills, Lucia Scott.
Winning try scorer Francesca McGhie is pictured – thanks to Scottish Rugby
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