O'Kelly praises Irish nerve
Ireland international Malcolm O’Kelly credited his team for holding their nerve in the 40-13 win over Scotland in the RBS 6 Nations Championship at Murrayfield.
Hugo Southwell put the home team on course for a shock win with Scotland’s first try of the championship.
But O’Kelly and Paul O’Connell replied before Denis Hickie, John Hayes and Gavin Duffy crossed for the Irish, while Jon Petrie claimed the Scots’ second try.
However, after trailing 8-0, the Leinster lock, who became Ireland’s most-capped player today, admitted the Six Nations favourites needed a steely nerve to earn the win.
O’Kelly said: “We are absolutely delighted. It was tough to begin with. The Scottish players came out really firing and we had to stick to our guns.
“We were going to play a real simple game and keep it tight. We did that today and we showed a little bit of flair at the end.
“So we are pleased and we will go on to the next game with confidence. We knew the Scots would come out firing as they always do.
“But we knew what we were capable of and knew that it had been a simple error which led to the try.
“We just picked ourselves up, knew we were capable of scoring tries and that is what we did.”
O’Kelly added: “Scotland were never going to stop fighting and it is a credit to them and their coaching staff who drill them hard.
“But that is what the game is all about and we expected no less.”
Ireland’s next match in the championship will be against world champions England at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.
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