IT HAS been a long wait for Scotland to win their opening match in the RBS Six Nations Championship, and for a time during an agonising second half yesterday it looked like the wait would go on for another year at least.

Ireland, all but blown away by the home team in the first half, which they finished 21-8 adrift, had fought back strongly. When their second converted try put the Irish in the lead for the first time in the match, Scotland had gone more than 40 minutes without scoring, and looked as if they had run out of steam and fresh ideas.

But, superbly led by Greig Laidlaw, they fought back with two penalties to seize an inspired victory. France had been the last team to lose the Scots on opening day, back in 2006, and now they will be the next team to face up to Vern Cotter’s team, in Paris a week today. Scotland have not won there since the turn of the century, but on this showing they must be in with a chance.

They have long been accustomed to facing up to adversity: now they are a team who now how to conquer it. That was the case here not only in that second half, but also in the opening stages of the first half, when Allan Dell was twice penalised for scrum penalties, his fellow-prop Zander Fagerson once, and the whole pack appeared to be in for a very long afternoon, at least in the set piece.

In the loose, by contrast, Scotland were dominant, with Jonny Gray putting in another awe-inspiring performance and eventually setting a Scottish record of 28 tackles. And curiously, what they lost in the scrum they made up for in the lineout, where they enjoyed an overwhelming superiority and also conjured up the score of the day through Alex Dunbar just before the half-hour. By that time Stuart Hogg had already scored twice, the first after eight minutes. A lineout in the Irish half gave them position, and although they shunned an overlap on the left where Sean Maitland had acres of space, they switched right and a pass from Finn Russell was gathered on the bounce by the full-back.

The stand-off was involved in the second half too, feeding centre Huw Jones, who then passed to Hogg. With Maitland outside him as a decoy, the full-back cut inside to score. Laidlaw’s conversion of both tries meant Scotland led 14-0, but Ireland hit back through an unconverted try by Keith Earls. With the referee playing advantage, an attempted interception by Tommy Seymour only succeeded in knocking the ball into the arms of the winger.

Then came the outstanding moment of the game; a piece of tactical genius from set-piece coach Jonathan Humphreys. Laidlaw, Seymour and Dunbar all went into the front of the lineout, and, with the Irish forwards concentrating on their opposite numbers, hooker Ross Ford threw straight to Dunbar, who burst through and touched down.

“It shows what can happen when you bring backs into the forwards,” said the captain, who was again on target with his conversion. “A bit of brains and we become dangerous.”

Ireland hinted at becoming dangerous themselves with a Paddy Jackson penalty before half-time, then really threatened when Iain Henderson grabbed their second try - converted this time - after a fine start to the second half. From being on the brink of a bonus point late in the first half, Scotland were on the verge of losing the lead. They appeared to have done so a minute before the hour mark when Rob Kearney was tackled and pop-passed to Earls, who touched down, but TMO showed that the full-back had had a foot in touch after being tackled by Maitland.

Ireland would not be denied, however, and minutes later Jackson seized on a pass from Murray that looked destined for the outside centre. The stand-off converted his own score to put his team a point ahead, and put Scotland into a predicament from which they have so often been unable to extricate themselves.

But not this time. Laidlaw restored the lead with eight minutes to go, then delivered the coup de grace as the clock went into the red.

What was he thinking as he lined up that last kick? “Don’t hit the post was one thing,” he said. “As soon as I hit it I knew it was in.”

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt lamented the slow start by his team, implying they had left themselves too much to do. “We arrived 15 minutes late to the stadium and were late for most things in the first half,” he said. “We were sluggish and missed a few tackles. We left the hotel on time: these things happen. It’s certainly not an excuse.”

Ireland should get back on track at the weekend when they visit Italy. Scotland’s aim will be not to get knocked off course in Paris, but any grander ambitions will have to wait.

“We want to win the next game,” Laidlaw said when asked what the team’s target for the tournament was now. “We’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We’ve got huge belief within our group and that’s the most important thing.”

Scorers:

Scotland: Tries: Hogg 2, Dunbar. Cons: Laidlaw 3. Pens: Laidlaw 2.

Ireland: Tries: Earls, Henderson, Jackson. Cons: Jackson 2. Pen: Jackson.

Referee: R Poite (France). Attendance: 67,144.