Six in a row for Irish over Scots

In a gritty game in Edinburgh the Irish womens rugby team came out on top 22-5 in the third round of the 6 Nations.

Irelands most experienced player Lynne Cantwel (pictured)l capped an excellent performance with two tries while Niamh Briggs and Ger Rea also touched down.

The victory is Irelands sixth win in a row over the Scots who defended bravely in a tough game of international rugby.

The Irish got off to a flying start when Lynne Cantwells super break brought a try within the opening ten minutes as Irelands most experienced player touched down for a 5-0 lead.

The Scots hit right back though when winger Lauren Harris brought her team back into it with a try just minutes later.

The score came after Katy Green halted another Cantwell attack with a good tackle bundling the centre into touch and good pressure from the home saw the tide of possession turn in their favour and an impressive piece of teamwork, featuring centre Steph Johnston, stand off Lisa Martin and wing Lauren Harris saw the latter cross the line to level the score, the five-pointer being Harris' debut try for Scotland.

Ireland piled on the pressure deep in Scottish territory with some fine phases of play but excellent work at the breakdown by the home team forced a turnover and Irelands chance passed.

A stop start first half was dominated by a series of scrums and line-outs but Scotland did well with their possession and forced their way into Irelands half though with no real chance for either side the half ended 5-5.

Ireland upped the ante in the second half but the visiting teams strong territorial play was rewarded when centre Ger Rea crashed over in the corner after intense pressure from her set of forwards. Scotland had been on the backfoot in the build up to the try with some massive tackles from skipper Suzie Brown as well as Lindsay Wheeler and Annabel Sergeant.

Ireland then lost Rea to the sinbin when she was penalised for not rolling away on the deck but the Irish continued to dominate and Niamh Briggs try gave them a deserved 10-5 lead.

The Irish made sure with another try from Cantwell, who hit a perfect line of running to score under the posts with the conversion making it 22-5