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DUBLIN, Ireland -- Ireland overcame the late withdrawal of captain Paul OConnell to beat Scotland 28-6 in their Six Nations opener at Lansdowne Road on Sunday. OConnell picked up a chest infection on Saturday night, but the hugely influential lock wasnt missed for once as his replacement, Dan Tuohy, helped mince up the Scotland lineout in the first half and stand-in skipper Jamie Heaslip led by example with a try and high workrate. Ireland bridged halftime with tries by winger Andrew Trimble and Heaslip, and Jonathan Sexton added 13 points to overtake Michael Kiernan and become his countrys third highest point-scorer in tests. Fullback Rob Kearney, marking his 50th cap, added a late try when the result was already in Irelands grasp. Without OConnell, Sean OBrien and Gordon DArcy, three big contributors in the heart-breaking loss to New Zealand in the last outing in November, there was enough doubt about Irelands ability and mindset to achieve another good start in the last Six Nations for Brian ODriscoll. But the doubts proved unnecessary, as Ireland had enough class and nous for a Scotland still lacking a killer touch, and won its tournament opener for the 10th time in the last 11 years. Even so, Heaslip said coach Joe Schmidt tore into them after the game, saying they needed "huge improvements." The trouble with Ireland is finishing what it starts, unlike its next opponent, Wales, a slow Six Nations starter but fast finisher. The defending champion comes to Dublin next Saturday. "Massive, massive challenge coming," Kearney said. "We have to recover really well now. Weve only got six days, theyve had an extra day. Theyre going for three championships in a row, so were under no illusions." Heaslip and Schmidt said they were shocked to discover OConnell became ill overnight, hardly slept, and saw a doctor at 4:30 a.m. Schmidt said he expected OConnell, plus DArcy, to be available for the Wales game. "Its a relief to me that weve got through the game and got a win on the board," he said. Scotland coach Scott Johnson rued his sides naivety. "We may have to go to some dark places and bring some torches," Johnson said. "Theres a naivety there that well overcome by having some time in the saddle. They dont understand they are doing the hard bits quite easily, but its the finishing off." Scotland began the match by doing what it does best, holding the ball. The Scots worked 11 phases into the Ireland 22 until they were harshly penalized for holding too long. Then Greig Laidlaws long-range penalty hit the left upright. Sexton and Laidlaw swapped penalties, and Ireland ended up leading 6-3 into the second quarter. Not until the last 10 minutes did the heart-rate rise. No. 8 David Denton came closest to a Scotland try when he burst blindside off a ruck 10 metres out and was trying to reach out to the line when he was bowled into touch by scrumhalf Conor Murray and flanker Peter OMahony. As Ireland loosened Scotlands pressure -- winning four Scottish throw-ins helped -- Scots and Lions winger Sean Maitland landed awkwardly on his right ankle from jumping for an up and under and limped off with concussion. Sexton put the pressure back on Scotland by carving past tackles in midfield, and gave Heaslip a shot in the left corner, but the No. 8 stepped over the sideline just before he touched down. Ireland failed twice from five-meter lineouts with seconds to go and Scotlands defence looked like holding, but quick rucks helped Ireland find Scotland short on the right wing, where Kearney gave Trimble the overlap to score for an 11-3 halftime lead. "That gave us a little bit of breathing space," Kearney said. Soon after the restart, Laidlaw cut the deficit to five, but Ireland put the game away in the 47th when Tuohys lineout take was mauled by Ireland and Heaslip scored too easily. Sexton converted for 18-6 and added a third penalty before the hour. Ireland controlled possession throughout the half, and inevitably notched a third try to Kearney, who exploited a tiring defence when he slipped off replacement Alasdair Dickinson and dragged flanker Ryan Wilson to the tryline nine minutes from time. Scotland hosts England next Saturday. Matt Wieters Jersey . PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston. Custom St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . An offseason trade acquisition from Kansas City, Greinkes National League debut was delayed by a non-baseball injury in the spring, and he was 0-1 after dropping an 8-0 decision at Atlanta in his initial appearance with the Brewers on May 4. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/764t-ken-boyer-jersey-cardinals.html . On Sunday, hell attempt to become the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Nationwide race on Iowas short track. The 20-year-old Blaney wont be the only kid pushing a podium finish. Lane Thomas Cardinals Jersey . Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane came up big when it counted, tallying two goals and an assist. He scored the game-winner with 4:45 remaining in the third period, stopping on the right hashmarks, carrying the puck up through the top of the Kings zone, then firing a wrist shot from the top of the circles past Jonathan Quick, who had his view obstructed by Andrew Shaw. St. Louis Cardinals Gear . -- Arizona pitcher Bronson Arroyo is expected to miss a week to 10 days because of a back injury.KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia -- Felix Neureuther overcame a pre-Olympic car crash to win a World Cup slalom on Sunday, giving himself pole position in the fight for the seasons discipline title. Neureuther beat Fritz Dopfer for a German 1-2 finish, and overtook Marcel Hirscher on top of the slalom standings by five points with one race remaining. On his way to Munich airport for his flight to Sochi on Feb. 14, Neureuther suffered whiplash as he lost control of his car on an icy road and hit the barrier. "I was in the best shape of my life when the car accident happened," Neureuther said. "The whole body was hurting. I couldnt ski at my top level at the Olympics. I was very disappointed. That was the most difficult time of my life." Starting as a medal contender, Neureuther came eighth in the GS and failed to finish his second run of the slalom at the Olympics. "The last couple of weeks have been brutal," the German said. "But I kept on fighting and today is the reward for that. I came back and I am very proud of that." Neureuther finished in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 45.50 seconds to lead Dopfer by 0.59. Norwegian teenager Henrik Kristoffersen took third, 0.79 back. Olympic champion Mario Matt of Austria, who led after the first run, straddled a gate near the end of his final run and failed to finish. Hirscher came 0.95 behind Neureuther in fifth. The Austrian has 465 slalom points, just five behind Neureuther on 470. Kristoffersen is third on 430. "It looks pretty good," Neureuther said. "Henrik and Marcel are very close. Its going to be exciting. We will all ski absolutely to our limits." Neureuther said that winning the slalom globe would not make up for missing out on an Olympic medal. "Olympics are every four years," he said. "An Olympic medal is something different, winning a globe means youre the best skier during the whole year." It was Neureuthers seventh career slalom win and he now shares the German record for most World Cup wins in the discipline with Armin Bittneer.dddddddddddd Two-time defending champion Hirscher went top of the overall standings with 1,050 points, edging Norways Aksel Lund Svindal by just four points and setting up a tense conclusion to the season at next weeks World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. "Something has to change over the next few days," said Hirscher, who was hoping for a larger buffer. "I have to be able to compete at the same level as Aksel again, otherwise I am lost. (Fifth) is better than skiing out but this result is not satisfying." Hirscher admitted he was feeling the pressure. He can become only the fourth skier, and the first Austrian, to win the overall title three years in a row. "I am just not racing as easily as I usually do," Hirscher said. "This was all I could do, more was impossible. I have to admit that. What the other three showed on the hill was different class. How Felix took the steep part, that was the best slalom skiing weve seen all season." Dopfer reached his fourth career World Cup podium but was still waiting for his first win. Like teammate Neureuther, Dopfer bounced back from a disappointing Olympics, where he came fourth in the slalom. "This is my medal," said Dopfer. "My last few slaloms have been really good and this is my reward." Kristoffersen continued his great run that started in January and saw him win his first World Cup race, an Olympic bronze medal, and two junior world titles. And Saturday, he earned his first career podium in GS. "My main goal is for sure to get a better skier," said the 19-year-old Norwegian, who was giving himself an outside chance to grab the slalom title next week. "For sure, now its that close you want more." Ted Ligety, who won a record sixth giant slalom on the same course Saturday, was 2.04 back in 16th. Former overall champion Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, who won here last year, finished 2.98 off the lead in 27th. Sundays race was the last event before the World Cup finals start in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on Wednesday. ' ' '