Ireland 43-21 Scotland: Andy Farrell's side keep hopes of championship win alive and secure Triple Crown in Dublin

Ireland kept their hopes of clinching the Six Nations alive with a 43-21 victory over Scotland at the Aviva Stadium, a result which secured the Triple Crown.

After beating England, Wales, and now Scotland, Ireland have picked up a fourth Triple Crown in the last five years.

The victory also means they will spend their evening supporting England in their match against France which concludes this year's tournament.

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An England win would be enough for Ireland to clinch the Championship thanks to their Dublin victory, secured with a bonus point.

If England and France were to draw, with Les Blues also scoring four or more tries for a bonus point, that would be enough for France to take the title thanks to their superior points difference.

Scotland's wait for a Six Nations title, meanwhile, continues into 2027, with their last coming in 1999 under the old format. They also continue their wait for a win in Dublin having now lost 12 in a row. They will finish this year's Six Nations in third regardless of the rest of the results.

Ireland had a 19-7 lead at half-time after a breathless opening 20 minutes, converted tries from Jamie Osborne and Dan Sheehan plus a diving effort from Robert Baloucoune getting their points on the board.

Scotland had hit back through a Darcy Graham try, which Finn Russell converted, but they had work to do in the second half to keep their hopes of making history alive.

The visitors added tries through Russell and Rory Darge, the former converting both, but Ireland matched them and then some to seal an emphatic victory.

Darragh Murray on debut picked up the bonus-point effort for his side before Jack Crowley added a penalty and Tommy O'Brien went in twice, the second with just 20 seconds remaining, to send the Aviva into pandemonium.

How Ireland remained in title hunt

There was always going to be urgency to this Triple Crown-deciding fixture, and that was evident in the relentless start to the match as the sides treated spectators to four tries in a blistering 20-minute period.

Osborne picked up the quickest try of Ireland's 2026 campaign in the third minute from an inventive lineout call, the full-back running a great line that sent him in under the sticks. Crowley converted for a 7-0 lead.

It was not long before Scotland hit back, and after putting 19 phases together the visitors finally got their reward by sending a looping pass out wide to Graham, Russell converting to level things at 7-7.

It was clear that both sides were going for the four-try bonus point, and the scores just kept coming, Sheehan the next to go over off the back of a classic Irish maul from the lineout. Crowley added the extras once again as they moved 14-7 ahead inside 10 minutes.

An audacious finish from Baloucoune helped extend Ireland's lead in the 20th minute. Off the back of the scrum, some quick thinking and lovely hands helped the home outfit whip it out wide, and the winger backed his pace to dive in at the corner. This time Crowley could not add the conversion.

After an opening 20 minutes that was all about scoring, the second 20 was a war of attrition. Ireland were clearly the side on top, especially in the breakdown, but Scotland's defence stood firm enough to keep them out.

Ireland had not lost on any of the last 30 occasions when leading at half-time at home in the Six Nations, and they made that 31 thanks to some brilliant attack and stellar defence.

The key for Scotland in the second half was whether they could cut out their errors and breach a resolute Ireland defence - and the second of these, they did manage to do.

After a sustained period of pressure for 10 minutes, reward came as a Ben White wonder-pass saw Russell use his strength to go over and convert his own effort to bring the score to 19-14, the kick helping him pass 500 points in internationals in the process.

Four minutes later, though, Ireland secured the bonus point as debutant Murray battled over after a string of phases. Crowley came through with the conversion again to move his side 26-14 ahead.

That did not deter a fighting Scotland, and with Kyle Steyn surging forward, a series of short passes allowed Darge to spring through and penetrate Ireland's defence once again. Russell sent the conversion over which brought the score to 26-21 and set up an enticing final 20 minutes.

After nine minutes of both teams searching for their moment, Bundee Aki came up with a big run which provided the basis for Ireland to put together some intricate passing which ended with O'Brien racing through to touch down for their fifth try on 69 minutes. Crowley was accurate with the boot again to restore his side's 12-point advantage and put them 33-21 ahead with 10 minutes remaining.

Ireland opted to take the sting out of the game in the 73rd minute by opting to kick a penalty, Crowley obliging once again to extend their advantage to 15 points.

Then, in the dying seconds of the contest, O'Brien found space out wide and used his speed to put the cherry on top of a huge win with his second. With the last play of Ireland's Six Nations 2026, Crowley made it five out of six with the boot for the 43-21 win.

Now, Ireland have to wait and hope England pull off a monumental win over France so they can experience Six Nations glory for the first time since 2024.

Doris: It is a rare day where we will cheer England

Ireland captain Caelan Doris, speaking to ITV Sport:

"We asked for a big performance from some of our senior players, our big-match players, and they stood up. Tadhg Beirne was unbelievable.

"We saw what Scotland's attack was capable of last week [against France] and we knew it was going to come again.

"It came in waves but there were big moments to keep them out.

"It is a rare day to be cheering on England. We feel we have done what we can control."

Ireland coach Andy Farrell, speaking to ITV Sport:

"I have just seen Darragh Murray hug his parents and that sums up the day for me. The performance is one thing, the manner is another.

"There have been a lot of firsts for us - first caps, people playing in the Six Nations for the first time, playing on Super Saturday when it counts.

"This will make us more resilient in the long run. The experienced players have passed on what it means to be an international player.

"I thought our bench was immense."

Townsend: We have pride and we have regret

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend, speaking to ITV Sport:

"The second half showed much more of what we can do.

"We needed to be physical and we definitely applied a lot of press. Ireland were very good in their attack today.

"It was a missed opportunity. We didn't play our best game but it is hard to do that. No team has done that for more than two or three games.

"There is [pride and regret] but the players threw everything on the line for their country.

"We have a competitive game that can put teams under pressure. We need to deliver that every game we play."

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Ireland 43-21 Scotland: Andy Farrell's side keep hopes of championship win alive and secure Triple Crown in Dublin