Ireland ace shoved over ad boards as Rugby World Cup match descends into chaos

Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan went flying over the advertising boards as a huge brawl erupted during Saturday’s crucial Rugby World Cup match against Scotland. Andy Farrell’s side went into the match aiming to qualify for the knockout stages as Pool B winners and raced into a huge first-half lead before tensions rose after the break.

James Lowe crossed after just 70 seconds to get Ireland off to a flyer before a brace from Hugo Keenan and another try from Iain Henderson gave them a 26-0 lead at half-time. It left Scotland needing a miracle to reach the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, with the added tension leading to a brawl erupting shortly after the restart.

Scotland prop Pierre Schoeman was at the thick of the action as he bundled in to the melee before sparking a collective gasp from the crowd when he threw Sheehan over the advertising boards. Several players from both teams ended up pushing and shoving each other on the touchline before referee Nic Berry stepped in to issue a call for calm.

Schoeman’s heavy-handedness somehow went unpunished after the brawl had died down, with substitute Ollie Smith instead ending up in the sin bin for tripping Johnny Sexton. Sheehan, meanwhile, was unhurt and managed to get back to his feet before having the last laugh when he crossed to extend Ireland’s lead a few minutes later.

Former Ireland winger Tommy Bowe was left unimpressed with Scotland’s players while on commentary duties for BBC Radio 5 Live, saying: “A stupid, reckless decision. Scotland really didn’t need that.”

However, ex-Scotland centre Scott Hastings took a more lenient view as he suggested that no yellow cards should have been brandished in the aftermath of the melee. He said on ITV: “If Scotland were trying to ease their woes tonight, they have just compounded them. A trip is not good in rugby but there was a lot more that happened. I feel it was just a penalty offence.”

Ireland went on to rub salt into Scotland’s wounds by pulling even further ahead, with Garry Ringrose bundling over the line after finding himself in space on the wing. They will face New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup next weekend in a match that will see one of the pre-tournament favourites dumped out early.

Scotland, meanwhile, will simply need to regroup and unpick what went wrong after seeing their hopes of reaching the knockout stages go up in smoke. They eventually managed to score through Ewan Ashman and Ali Price but it was too little, too late for Gregor Townsend’s men as they came up short at the Stade de France.

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