Ireland hold off Scots’ charge

Ireland 4-12 Scotland 2-12

John Meyler and Michael Walsh’s side stormed to a 20-point win last year in Ennis and a similar whitewash looked on the cards when the hosts powered to a 2-1 to 0-0 lead after six minutes, with Laois’s Cahir Healy and Limerick’s Graeme Mulcahy netting early goals.

Scotland weathered the storm to push ahead after 23 minutes, following a Finlay MacRae goal, but they only held it for 50 seconds. Goals from Antrim’s Neil McManus and Carlow’s Jack Kavanagh handed Ireland a 4-5 to 2-3 interval lead, and Ireland remained on top on the restart, despite being outscored nine points to seven in the second half.