Ireland beat Scots to keep Six Nations title race alive

Ireland kept the Six Nations championship alive for a few hours at least with a Triple Crown-clinching 26-5 victory over Scotland in Dublin, meaning France must beat England in Paris later on Saturday to win their first championship in 12 years.

The host’s more controlled attacking rugby shaded an entertaining first half, with Leinster’s try-scoring hooker Dan Sheehan and prop Cian Healy crossing before another front row, Scotland’s Pierre Schoeman, cut the deficit to 14-5.

Flanker Josh van der Flier extended the lead to a much more comfortable 16 points on the hour before replacement Conor Murray’s last gasp bonus-point try removed another title-winning option from the equation, that of a rare bonus-point draw for the French.

It means only a Grand Slam-securing victory will do for the French favourites, while the effective Irish have at least a first clean sweep of their “home nation” rivals in four years to celebrate in the meantime.