Scotland must surely be sick by now of being the gatecrashers at someone else’s party.
For the third year in a row they stood and watched the fireworks explode at full-time and the joyous music boom out over the stadium speakers and once again the celebrations weren’t for them.
Instead, Gregor Townsend and his players were left to ponder what might have been as a Six Nations campaign that belatedly offered so much promise again ended in the same sorry fashion.
It had to be Ireland, of course, who crushed Scottish dreams once again. Scotland were already also-rans when the Irish claimed the championship at the Aviva here two years ago and when France did the same in Paris 12 months ago.
This time they were still in contention, both for a Triple Crown and for the championship itself. A win here in Dublin and then a favour from England against France and the trophy would be winding its way back to Murrayfield.
Ireland had other thoughts, just as they always do when these teams meet, and they ultimately proved too strong once more to run out winners by 22 points.
Robert Baloucoune evades the tackle of Darcy Graham before crossing for another Ireland try
That scoreline might flatter them slightly given Scotland were still in contention until 12 minutes before the end but there could be no arguing that the better team hadn’t deservedly won.
This was an error-strewn, strangely flat performance from Townsend’s side, who scored three tries — Darcy Graham in the first half, Finn Russell and Rory Darge after the break — but never looked like they truly believed they had it in them to win in Dublin for the first time since 2010.
And so, this patchy, topsy-turvy Six Nations campaign is at an end with Scotland finishing third, an improvement on the last two years but still one that feels like a disappointment given they had hauled themselves off the canvas following that opening day loss in Rome to win three on the bounce. Ireland, though, again proved to be a fight too far.
Predictions that this was going to be a cagier affair compared to the frenetic, free-flowing clash between Scotland and France the week before soon proved misplaced as the teams shared four tries within the opening 18 minutes.
Unfortunately from a Scottish perspective, three of those went the way of the hosts as Ireland quickly got their boot on the visitors’ throats — as they have done repeatedly in this fixture over the past decade.
Scotland winger Graham is left to reflect on his side’s missed opportunity after defeat in Dublin
It took just two minutes for them to cut Scotland open for the first time and it was a try of sheer simplicity. Scotland conceded a scrum penalty that Ireland kicked to the corner. The Irish lineout was smooth and a few passes later Jack Crowley was teeing up Jamie Osborne to sprint over line without a tackler near him.
The Scots had shown in Cardiff that they had finally found a way to bounce back from adversity and they did so again quickly here.
It would prove to be the sole highlight of an otherwise disappointing opening period. George Turner and Pierre Schoeman both carried hard towards the line before the backs did the rest.
Russell — who struggled for most of the match — passed to Blair Kinghorn who in turn set up Graham to score in the corner. It was the winger’s 38th in Scotland colours as he stretched his lead over Duhan van der Merwe at the top of the all-time scoring charts.
The hope was that it would provide the catalyst for the visitors to go on and grab the ascendancy. Instead it was Ireland who simply shrugged off that brief setback to land two more tries before the half was out.
Graham was pinged for drifting offside and Ireland kicked for the corner. Scotland seemed to have done well initially to splinter the maul but that just created the gap for Dan Sheehan to burst through and score.
Finn Russell’s second-half try had briefly sparked hope of a remarkable comeback
Stuart McCloskey was putting in a stellar shift in the Irish midfield and powered into Russell to stop a Scotland attack. That received a roar as loud as any try from the home fans and they were soon out of their seats to cheer a third try.
McCloskey was the man to create it, the Ulster man taking advantage of Scotland’s narrow defence by whipping a dangerous pass wide to Rob Baloucoune, who shrugged off Graham’s attempt to tackle him to get the ball down.
When Graham fly-hacked a loose ball up the field to try to create something out of nothing, it looked like Kinghorn would be the man to benefit. Instead it was the hungrier men in green who motored back to sweep up the danger.
The next score was always going to be crucial and it was the visitors who got it early in the second half. They looked to have run out of steam after their forwards had battered away at the line, unable to break through the Irish defence.
Eventually the backs showed them the way, Russell throwing a dummy then going himself as he burst through a gap to get the ball down then bounced up to convert his own try. Scotland, somehow, were back within five points.
Hope, though, would prove fleeting as within four minutes Ireland had responded with a fourth try and the bonus point. They racked up phase after phase of pick-and-goes before debutant Darragh Murray spotted a gap and simply powered through it. Crowley’s conversion restored Ireland’s 12-point lead.
Ireland hold aloft the Triple Crown silverware as a jubilant Aviva Stadium goes wild
Back, though, came Scotland in what was an increasingly frantic contest, no surprise given how much was on the line for both teams. Kyle Steyn made a brilliant run down the left to create the platform and a few phases later Grant Gilchrist was popping a pass into the hands of Darge, who streaked away to score. This enthralling contest had taken yet another twist — but Scotland still trailed.
It was going to take a monumental effort in the closing phases if they were to turn it around but instead it was Ireland who finished the stronger as they claimed a fifth try to all but end Scotland’s chances.
Tommy O’Brien was the man to get it, the winger fastening on to Ciaran Frawley’s smart pass to hare away and dot down. Scotland’s race looked run and Crowley made sure of it as he called for his kicking tee when Ireland won another penalty to extend his team’s lead to 15 points.
A second O’Brien try at the death — after a mix-up between Russell and Tuipulotu — sealed the win and summed up Scotland’s afternoon as Ireland broke their hearts once again. They should be used to that by now.