The China Mail - Ireland hold on to Six Nations trophy after Wales boss Gatland offers to quit

Irish hopes of back-to-back Grand Slams were dashed by last week's dramatic 23-22 loss to England at Twickenham.

But they knew that if they avoided defeat, or secured two bonus points, against a Scotland side fresh from a morale-sapping 31-29 defeat by Italy in Rome, they would keep hold of the title.

The Scots, however, still had a trophy to play for given they were bidding for their first Triple Crown -- when one of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales beats each of those other teams in a single championship season -- since 1990.

And they produced a mammoth defensive effort in Dublin that threatened to frustrate Ireland.

- 'War of attrition' -

Tries by Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter eventually got Ireland over the line, although Scotland centre Huw Jones crossed late on after Irish replacement Harry Byrne was sin-binned to set up a tense finish.

"It was a war of attrition," said Ireland coach Andy Farrell.

"I am delighted for the lads as back-to-back titles is very difficult to achieve," the former England international added.

Scotland boss Gregor Townsend praised the resilience of his side, who nevertheless suffered a tenth successive defeat by Ireland.

"I feel really proud of the players. All 23 -- the effort they put in today, in one of the toughest environments to play in."

Earlier, Wales finished bottom of the Six Nations for the first time in 21 years following a 24-21 loss to Italy in Cardiff in the opening match of "Super Saturday".

Defeat meant Wales ended a Six Nations propping up the table for the first time since 2003, when they also lost all five of their matches.

It was a sad way for Wales centre George North, who went off injured late on, to bow out from Test rugby in his final match before international retirement.

Wales have now lost 12 of their last 13 Six Nations encounters.

Saturday's reverse led Gatland, in his second spell as Wales boss, to offer his resignation to Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney, even though the 60-year-old New Zealander is contracted until the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

Asked if he wanted to see out his current deal, Gatland, whose second spell in charge started in December 2022, replied: "Yes, absolutely. I've made that commitment.

"I just said to Abi in the changing room, 'If you want me to resign, I'm quite happy to do that'.

"She said, 'Like hell, that's the last thing I want, that's what I'm really afraid of'."

- Careful review -

Gatland, whose first spell as Wales boss yielded four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, and two World Cup semi-final appearances, added: "But I can promise you we'll go away and review this really carefully. We've already done some review stuff and (we'll) work on areas that need to improve."

Wales have been hard hit by the retirement of several senior players either side of last year's World Cup quarter-final defeat by France in Argentina.

Italy, however deserved their win after scoring fine tries through Monty Ioane and Lorenzo Pani to lead 18-0 until the 65th minute, before a late Wales rally flattered the hosts.

Victory meant Italy had their best Six Nations season return of two wins and a draw. It also ensured the Azzurri avoided a ninth straight 'wooden spoon' in the tournament.

"We needed to be stronger and have that belief and pride in the Italian jersey, which has always been there, and that we needed to be organised better," said Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada.

Ireland's win over Scotland left England and France vying for second place in Saturday's finale in Lyon.

For England, thrashed 53-10 by France at Twickenham last season, there was the added incentive of trying to win four games in a Six Nations for the first time since they last won the title in 2020.

A.Sun--ThChM