Scotland stuns Ireland 12-8 in Six Nations

EDINBURGH: Greig Laidlaw’s boot helped Scotland to a stunning 12-8 upset of Ireland in their Six Nations encounter at Murrayfield yesterday.
Laidlaw’s four second-half penalties sealed the win for the Scots, who had been 8-0 down shortly after halftime following Paddy Jackson’s penalty in the first period and Craig Gilroy’s try four minutes into the second half.
Ireland hammered at the Scottish line in the closing stages knowing a try would put them 13-12 up but the home side stayed strong to repel the visitors.
Scotland moved into third place in the championship table behind unbeaten England and Wales, who also have four points following two wins from their opening three matches.
In Wellington, New Zealand, Super 15 rugby’s defending champions the Waikato Chiefs and the tournament’s newest team, South Africa’s Southern Kings, unexpectedly made winning starts in the first full round of the competition.
Despite wearing the mantle of champions, the injury-hit Chiefs started as slight underdogs against the Otago Highlanders on Friday but emerged as confident and emphatic 41-27 winners.
The Southern Kings had carefully staked out the ground of tournament underdogs before going on to win their debut match 22-10 over Australia’s Western Force on their home ground at Port Elizabeth.
In a round of gripping derby matches, the Queensland Reds beat interstate rivals the New South Wales Waratahs 25-17 while South Africa’s Bulls beat the Stormers by the same scoreline.