Scotland 18-32 Ireland: Three things we learned
Ireland win in cruise control
Losing to Ireland for the 11th consecutive time was always going to hurt, but the fact the Six Nations champions were able to turn Scotland over on their own patch without hitting anything like top gear was particularly galling.
"A six out of ten Ireland performance," said former Scotland hooker Fraser Brown on BBC Radio Scotland. Ireland great Ronan O'Gara said the 14-point victory felt more like a 40-point win, such was the Irish dominance.
The men in green took a firm grip from the off, winning the gain-line battle and forcing Scotland onto the backfoot.
Scotland were defending the try-line for their lives in the opening exchanges and a 17-0 lead after half an hour hardly flattered the visitors.
Eleven unanswered points either side of the break offered hope, but having ground their way back within six, a botched restart handed the initiative back to Ireland and they did not relinquish it.
There was a sense throughout that Ireland had more gears should they be required, and for a Scotland team trying to bridge the gap to the world's best, that is a tough pill to swallow.
Injury curse strikes again
Two weeks out from the Six Nations opener against Italy, Scotland's injury list seemed encouragingly small. How quickly things change.
The grievous blow of losing captain Sione Tuipulotu severely punctured the pre-tournament optimism, and the casualty list only grew with Max Williamson, Scott Cummings and Dylan Richardson all ruled out for the tournament and Kyle Steyn left in a race against time to play a part in the final two rounds.
The injury curse struck again in one cruel blow against Ireland when Finn Russell and Darcy Graham thumped into each other in a horrible collision that ended both players' involvement in the first half.
The sight of Graham, a man who has had wretched luck on the injury front, leaving the field on a stretcher was distressing. Fortunately he was released from hospital on Sunday evening.
He and Russell will now undergo the return to play concussion protocols and Gregor Townsend will be praying both men recover for the trip to Twickenham in two weeks. Scotland will need them.
What now for Scotland in the Six Nations?
The overriding feeling among the Scotland fans, both inside Murrayfield and commenting online, was an overwhelming sense of deflation.
You have to hope that same despondency is not prevalent among the squad in the coming days because they will need to move on quickly. There is still plenty to play for.
Gregor Townsend attempted to put a positive spin on the performance against Ireland after the match, but the team will need to be a whole lot better if they are to salvage anything from this campaign.
In many ways, England in round three is the perfect game to bounce back. It's the one game Scotland are pretty much guaranteed to bring the required intensity, the recent Calcutta Cup record is exceptional, and a win at Twickenham would be the perfect tonic after the bitter disappointment of being swotted aside by Ireland.
But England will be re-energised after their dramatic late victory over France and desperate to put one over Scotland after four straight defeats in this fixture.
The margin for error is gone for both teams in this Six Nations, and both Townsend and Steve Borthwick will know a defeat that ends their title challenge by round three will lead to some very uncomfortable questions.
