EDINBURGH // Ireland stayed on course for the Grand Slam after surviving a torrid match to beat Scotland 22-15 in the Six Nations on Saturday.
Ireland trailed 12-9 at the break against a powerful Scotland side showing unexpected flair in the backs, but the visitors improved in the second period and got the crucial score when Jamie Heaslip touched down in the 51st minute.
After rallying from a half-time deficit for the first time in nine years, Ireland go into next week's match at Wales knowing it is almost certainly the title decider.
"The performance was very average but it's all about next weekend," said the fly-half Ronan O'Gara, who kicked 17 points to become the tournament's all-time leading scorer.
The second-placed Welsh won 20-15 at Italy despite having trailed for much of the match, although France could also be in contention for the title if they win at England.
Having thrown away chances for a Grand Slam in recent seasons, Ireland's players appeared to be getting increasingly nervous as they approach the final round and the possibility of a first sweep since 1948.
Convincing wins over France and Italy were followed by a disappointingly slim 14-13 win over England two weeks ago and Ireland stuttered again at Murrayfield.
"We knew it was going to be tough coming over here, every Test match is, especially away from home," Ireland's coach Declan Kidney said. "There was a lot of pressure and expectation."
Heaslip, though, put Ireland ahead for the first time and his team never let go of the advantage.
The scrum-half Peter Stringer, one of four changes to the team that beat England, darted through the defence and flipped a one-handed pass behind him for Heaslip to collect and go over. O'Gara's conversion helped him on his way to a tally that established a new Five/Six Nations record of 492, putting him ahead of Jonny Wilkinson.
The Ireland fly-half hit a quickly taken drop goal to calm his team and rounded off the scoring with his fourth penalty, but he was overshadowed by Chris Paterson in the first half.
The Scotland fullback, recalled after sitting out the first three rounds, struck four times to put the home side 12-9 ahead at half-time.
But Scotland could have led by more. Just before the interval, the winger Thom Evans raced on to collect his own kick downfield and managed to slip the ball to Phil Godman in the tackle, but the fly-half was bundled out just short of the line by Brian O'Driscoll.
The victory took Ireland, the only unbeaten side in the tournament, to eight points from four matches, two more than Wales. Only a big win for the Welsh is likely to deny Ireland the title. Ireland have not won the competition since 1985 and completed its only perfect season back in 1948.
*AP
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Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
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The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE (+4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
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SPECS
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Scotland v Ireland:
Scotland (15-1): Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Sean Maitland; Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw (capt); Josh Strauss, James Ritchie, Ryan Wilson; Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist; Simon Berghan, Stuart McInally, Allan Dell
Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, D'arcy Rae, Ben Toolis, Rob Harley, Ali Price, Pete Horne, Blair Kinghorn
Coach: Gregor Townsend (SCO)
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
Biography
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Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
Company Profile
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Started: 2023
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Number of employees: 8
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Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
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The specs
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Max touring range: 628km
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Top speed: 210kph
Price: From Dh360,000
On sale: September
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
Avatar (2009)
Director: James Cameron
Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver
Rating: 3/5
Brief scoreline:
Burnley 3
Barnes 63', 70', Berg Gudmundsson 75'
Southampton 3
Man of the match
Ashley Barnes (Burnley)
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
The Secret Kingdom
Director: Matt Drummond
Stars: Alyla Browne, Alice Parkinson, Sam Everingham
Rating: 3/5