Six Nations: ‘Wind taken out of Scottish sails’ by Ireland defeat – Jones

In a Six Nations campaign that veered from looming disaster to potential glory, Scotland were ultimately left with a familiar feeling in Dublin – as good as they can be and have been in this championship, they are still not quite good enough.

The reaction to an opening defeat to Italy in Rome, a loss that threatened to blow their tournament off course right out the blocks, was very impressive.

The wins over England, Wales and, in particular, the jaw-dropping victory over France suggested this Scotland team might just have discovered some tools you need to be battling at the sharp end for the big prizes.

They were there on the final day, playing for a Triple Crown and still in the title mix. That’s undoubted progress for the simple reason they have never been in that position before.

But if the magnificent performance in putting 50 points on the eventual champions was a new peak for Scotland under Gregor Townsend, the way they were physically dominated by an inspired Irish team for a 12th consecutive match was a stark reminder of their limitations.

“I guess as a squad we came here full of confidence,” said Huw Jones.

“We knew it was going to be tough. We didn’t come here thinking it’s going to be easy, we’re going to beat Ireland, and we’re all going to be celebrating after the game.

“We knew we had to put the work in and obviously the performance wasn’t quite there.

“I think right now it feels like the wind has just been taken out of our sails. Obviously it’s the end of the championship, you don’t have another week to put it right.

“So it ends a bit flat, which is disappointing.”