Ireland started to doubt themselves against Scotland – Murray

Conor Murray concedes Ireland started to doubt themselves before Jacob Stockdale crossed for the first of their four tries in a 28-8 Six Nations win over Scotland that puts them in the box seat for Six Nations glory.

The bonus point win leaves England needing to score four tries in beating France in Paris to set up a St Patrick’s Day decider at Twickenham next weekend.

Ireland started brightly but lacked cutting edge before a Stockdale interception midway through the first half put them on the front foot.

Stockdale crossed again before the break and Murray’s try at the beginning of the second half edged Ireland closer to the all-important bonus point, which was eventually secured by replacement Sean Cronin from a driving maul.

The result puts Ireland on the brink of a first Grand Slam since 2009 and Murray is beginning to believe it could happen.

“I think that talk has been there, from outside our group, for the last six, seven weeks,” Murray told ITV. “It’s been in the back of our minds and you always dream of it.

“Against a good side, it took us a while to break them down. Everyone has a smile on their face after today. We can look forward to next week.

“We probably had a bit of nerves at the start. We started really, really well and didn’t convert a few chances, and then maybe a bit of doubt started creeping in.

“But Jacob has been scoring a few and he scored a couple more today. Great day.”

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