Joey Carbery steered Ireland to a redemptive but patchy 22-13 Guinness Six Nations victory over Scotland, as Joe Schmidt’s men edged back to winning ways in Edinburgh.

Johnny Sexton suffered a nasty-looking facial injury as the British and Irish Lions talisman copped a string of big hits from the hosts, leaving Munster fly-half Carbery to pilot Ireland home.

Conor Murray, Jacob Stockdale and Keith Earls all crossed for Ireland, while Sam Johnson replied for Scotland with Greig Laidlaw posting eight points from the boot.

Conor Murray scored the opening try of the game as he capitalised on a loose pass to ease over the line

The scrum half chased a kick forward and when Tommy Seymour misplaced a pass he was clear to run in and score

Ireland scored their second try of the afternoon just moments later when Jacob Stockdale raced away from the defence

Stockdale came off his wing to take a pop pass from Johnny Sexton before speeding all the way home from around 50 metres

Sam Johnson touched down for Scotland 10 minutes before half-time after some fantastic work by team-mate Finn Russell

Russell intercepted a loose pass and sprinted down field before lifting the ball into the onrushing Johnson as he was tackled

After a nervy opening to the second-half, Keith Earls managed to extend Ireland’s lead with a great breakaway try

MATCH FACTS AND SIX NATIONS STANDINGS 

Scotland: Hogg, Seymour, Jones, Johnson, Maitland, Russell, Laidlaw, Dell, McInally, Berghan, Gilchrist, Gray, Wilson, Ritchie, Strauss. 

Replacements: Brown, Bhatti, Rae, Toolis, Price, Horne, Kinghorn, Harley.

Tries: Johnson

Conversions: Laidlaw 

Penalties: Laidlaw x2

Ireland: Kearney, Earls, Farrell, Aki, Stockdale, Sexton, Murray, Healy, Best, Furlong, Roux, Ryan, O’Mahony, O’Brien, Conan.

Replacements: Cronin, Kilcoyne, Porter, Dillane, Van der Flier, Cooney, Larmour, Carbery.

Tries: Murray, Stockdale, Earls

Conversions: Murray x1, Carbery x1

Penalties: Carbery x1

Referee: Romain Poite

Sexton’s understudy Carbery so nearly fluffed his lines when throwing an intercept pass to Finn Russell, who raced on and popped off the ground for Johnson to score.

But the 23-year-old Carbery quickly found his place in the script, wriggling free and lofting out a fine pass for Earls to score the winning try.

Scotland lost Lions full-back Stuart Hogg to a shoulder injury, with Gregor Townsend’s men unable to add enough industry to their impressive finesse.

Ireland failed to convince for long stretches in their search for a riposte following last weekend’s punishing 32-20 home loss to England.

Scrum-half Murray again struggled with his kicking out of hand, and Sexton only lasted 24 minutes before being withdrawn, with Scotland constantly targeting him physically.

Schmidt’s men found the route to victory however, and having been so shaken and bullied by England last week, he will take this win any which way.

Ireland tiptoed to half-time with an unconvincing 12-10 lead, somehow fending off strong Scotland pressure.

Murray’s poor kicking and further inaccuracy gifted Scotland plenty of territory and possession, with Russell a constant threat on the ball.

Laidlaw slotted a penalty to put Scotland first on the board, only for Ireland to strike back through huge fortune.

Tommy Seymour should have comfortably dealt with Stockdale’s chip over the top, but instead flung a wild pass that eluded the helpless Sean Maitland.

Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw makes it 3-0 after sending an early through the posts to the delight of the home supporters

Scotland winger Sean Maitland is tackled by Keith Earls of Ireland during the early stages of the contest in Edinburgh

Johnny Sexton sent his conversion of Murray’s try well wide of the posts as blustery conditions caused havoc with kickers

Scotland’s Ryan Wilson is lifted high into the air as the imposing forward claims a ball in a line out as the crowd watches on

Stuart Hogg makes his way off the field with what appeared to be a groin injury during the first 40 minutes of action

Murray nipped onto the loose ball and scooted across the line, but curiously the half-back did not dot down under the posts.

Sexton duly missed the conversion, but Ireland eased those frustrations with another quick-fire score.

Peter O’Mahony’s midfield switch with Sexton opened the door for an inside ball to Stockdale, and the Ulster winger screamed home in style.

Murray slotted the conversion, as the big hits started to take their toll on Sexton, for Ireland to lead 12-3.

Just when Ireland looked to kick on though, further errors invited Scotland back into the contest.

Sexton was forced to admit defeat in his battle to stay in the game, trotting off with a bloodied nose and facial injury.

His replacement Carbery looked to have settled quickly, but then threw a wild interception pass that Russell gobbled up and hared towards the line.

Earls hunted down Russell in style, but the Racing 92 fly-half kept his cool and popped off the ground to the onrushing Johnson, who finished neatly.

Johnson thought he had scored before he actually did after having a try disallowed for a forward pass earlier in the attack

Russell (centre) vies with Ireland’s Bundee Aki (left) and Cian Healy as he tries to break through the game line for Scotland

Ireland’s scrum half kicks past Scotland’s Jonny Gray who attempts to charge it down as he clears his team’s lines

Ireland fly-half Jonny Sexton lies injured on the turf as he was taken off for a blood injury following a blow to the face

Substitute Carbery squeezed between two Scottish tacklers and broke clear before flighting a beautiful pass out to Earls

Carbery kicks the ball to convert the third try as he took over kicking duties from Sexton while he remained off the pitch

Laidlaw’s conversion had Scotland trailing by just two points, and Ireland’s panic set in.

Another poor Murray box kick gifted the hosts the ball, Carbery fumbled rather than collected and Earls had to sweep and roll into touch just five metres out.

Ireland disrupted the line-out but Rory Best had to touch down over his own line under pressure from Stuart McInally.

Scotland twice fended off the visitors to open the second half, only to concede a poor score.

Carbery wriggled through heavy midfield traffic, arced wide and floated a fine pass out to Earls, who nipped home.

Munster pivot Carbery slotted the conversion for Ireland to lead 19-10 approaching the hour.

Laidlaw and Carbery exchanged penalties as Ireland maintained that nine-point advantage, and so it stayed, leaving Ireland mightily relieved to head home with the win.

For a man whose neck vertebrae was fused, as a bulging disc was pushing on his spinal cord, Andrew Sheridan needs no reminder of rugby’s brutality ahead of Le Crunch.

That injury, sustained in a Toulon match, ended the former England prop’s career four-and-a-half years ago.

‘It happens to a lot of props,’ Sheridan tells Sportsmail matter-of-factly. ‘I knew what I was signing up for!

Andrew Sheridan has swapped rugby scrums for vineyards in France – where he now lives

‘It helps I’m not scrummaging anymore. I still have restricted movement, and if I’m inside somewhere where I have to duck down a lot I get aches and pains. 

‘I had shoulder problems too. The right one had to be re-done as the screw was broken. So I had four operations – two on each side – and my bicep went up my arm once, so had that done too. In general I’m able to run, do weights, row and keep reasonably fit though. I can’t really complain.’

While he holds no bitterness about the game that broke him, Sheridan feels rugby will change.

‘The amount of collisions and tackles means it’s only natural that the number of games will shrink, getting close to what American footballers are playing,’ he proffers.

‘Less than 20 or so a year. It would give the players some longevity which is important and also for the fans, if you have players who just churn out game after game you can lose some of that intensity.

‘As a player you go on auto-pilot, but if you sanitise it too much the casual observers will drift away. It’s about the balance.’

Sheridan provides expertise on buying bottles and advice on pairings in France’s Var region

Most will remember Sheridan as a rampaging forward, one of the most destructive scrummagers of his time – but life changes quickly.

Now if you are down in France’s Var region and happen to pop into a ‘Caviste’ (independent wine merchant) in Le Pradet, up the road from Carqueiranne where he lives, you will be able to buy bottles and take advise on pairings from the 6ft 5in Englishman.

You will see the big scar that splits his right eyebrow, the hulking shoulders and bashed up face from a career that saw Sheridan win 40 caps, the Premiership, Heineken Cup, tour with the Lions twice and reach a World Cup final – but you will be answered in fluent French, and be sure to receive sage tips from a new expert.

While playing Sheridan took his Wine and Spirit Education Trust exams. The ‘GSCE’ (Level 2) and ‘A Level’ (Level 3) were completed before his days at Sale and Toulon were up, then he passed six exams over three years to clinch his Diploma.

The switch from being able to bench-press 35st 6lbs and eating opposition props for breakfast, to possessing an extensive knowledge of grape varieties, regions and soil types, is quite the change. 

Sheridan was a monstrous prop for England before injury curtailed his career prematurely

‘I was quite motivated to do it,’ says softly-spoken Sheridan, who has set up a venture called Varvarians with a friend to put on wine, golf and rugby tours to the region. 

‘I like a drink like a lot of people, and still like a long lunch, but I wanted a greater understanding of it and a qualification to back it up.

‘I get every bit as much fun out of wine as I did rugby. I enjoyed rugby very much, this is completely different. It’s not necessarily about knocking back drinks all the time.

‘Wine is all about balance, like rugby. The acidity, the alcohol, the tannins, everything needs to be in sync. A mix of everything together makes a belting wine!’

Sheridan rates one of his finest achievements to be the transition from a lock to a prop. He had played 100 times in the second-row before converting at Bristol before moving to Sale Sharks in 2003 and then France in 2012, but this shift of lifestyles makes him most content.

‘I’m a professional retiree!’ he smiles over a coffee in Place de la Liberte down the way from the Stade Mayol, where his previous career finished.

Now with a 10-year Carte de Sejour he will stay down here with Welsh wife Siwan and eight-and-a-half-year-old daughter Catrin. Sometimes he sings Everly Brothers songs with his guitar too.

‘I get every bit as much fun out of wine as I did rugby,’ Sheridan told Sportsmail exclusively

‘It’s good to have different things to do, you can’t play rugby all your life,’ he continues. ‘I’m very content. I like a simple life, so am quite happy watching my daughter swim, walking with my wife on the coastal paths.

‘I enjoy the Six Nations, but don’t miss it. I enjoy it from the perspective of someone who used to play but am quite happy watching other people playing.

‘You can’t wind the clock back. Once it’s done it’s done. That was a part of my life but now it’s nice to watch the games, and see the next generation coming through.’

However, Sheridan still has a unique perspective on this weekend’s Le Crunch. Even though he has assimilated he marvels at France’s flakiness.

The 39-year-old will be hoping to raise a glass to an England win vs France in the Six Nations

‘The Wales match was bizarre,’ he says. ‘It seems to happen more in French games than with other teams. It’ll be interesting to see how they respond. Maybe a shrug of the shoulders, who knows!

‘There’s a frustration but particularly in somewhere like Toulon, they’re proud Frenchmen but they talk about the club first.

‘Toulon have not been doing well either, so that has been frustrating for them. With the national team people seem a bit despondent with it.

‘The wheels could come off completely now, or they could respond with a great performance against England. They have only won three in 18 Tests, and given England now have a bit of momentum it may continue.

‘When they get a flow and a rhythm to their game, handling the ball, going through contact, keeping the ball alive, they’re still capable of being one of the best teams around.

‘They were like that when I was playing. Suddenly they might put in an amazing performance, and you think “where’s that come from?” For a Frenchman I can imagine them being a frustrating team to watch!’

‘I’d imagine it’s going to be a tight game. France will come to Twickenham not expected to win, so might be great. It makes for an exciting game. I’ll be watching at home in my old man’s chair with a glass of wine.’