SCOTLAND's women capped a humiliating weekend for the senior international sides when they went down 73-3 against Ireland in the final match of the RBS 6 Nations at Broadwood Stadium yesterday.
It was a record defeat in the fixture and secured the title for Ireland, leaving the Scots rock bottom in the championship table.
Needing to win by a 27-point margin to pip France to the title, Ireland dominated proceedings throughout the 80 minutes and they had the match firmly under control by half time before hammering home their superiority in the second half.
Full back Niamh Briggs marked her 50th cap with the first Irish try and she added a penalty before Scotland responded with a three pointer from Nuala Deans. However, that was as close as the Scots would get and Ireland broke through the home defence with alarming frequency.
Claire Molloy, Heather O'Brien, Gill Bourke and Ally Miller grabbed a try apiece as the visitors reached half time with a 37-3 lead - Briggs kicking the remaining points.
Like their male counterparts, Scotland's management had pointed to improved performances in patches during the earlier rounds as evidence that the team was making progress. However, there was little sign of that in the second half as Ireland continued to add to their points tally.
Miller crossed the whitewash for a second time shortly after the restart, before touchdowns from Paula Fitzpatrick and Sophie Spence took the score past the half century. Tania Rosser and Jenny Murphy also dotted down and Miller completed her hat trick, while Briggs took her personal points haul to 23 with three further conversions.
The defeat means that Scotland ended the competition with only 27 points including two tries to their credit and it is now over five years since they recorded a win.
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