International view: Scotland mesmerised by dominant Ireland

And so Ireland are where they want to be. At the juncture they have never crossed before: a World Cup quarter-final.

Andy Farrell's collective, however, are operating at a level where they believe they can smash through a barrier where teams in the past viewed as insurmountable.

Make no mistake, New Zealand will be gunning for the team in the green jersey next Saturday at the Stade de France. Who would have thought it? Things changed in Soldier Field in 2016. A couple of more wins followed at the Aviva and then Farrell's men claimed a series victory on New Zealand soil in 2022.

In between, however, the All Blacks powered home against Joe Schmidt's flagging collective at the last-eight stage in Japan four years ago.

As a prep for the next instalment - a potential blockbuster in Saint-Denis - the Irish made light work of the Scots. From the moment James Lowe ran in the opening try with barely 60 seconds on the clock, a 17th win in a row for the Six Nations champions felt inevitable.

It was Ireland's most assured performance so far at World Cup 2023, clinical in the extreme, a further reinforcement of the dominance that a few nations now have over the rest.

Injury concerns over Mack Hansen, James Ryan and James Lowe will be addressed over the next 24 hours as the narrative ahead of another quarter-final takes shape

Here's the international view on how the Scots were taken apart.

Green machine flowing to a different rhythm

The gulf between the two teams was crystallised by Jonathan Liew in the Guardian, when saying that Ireland "were moving through a different gravity, playing to a different tempo".

Lew added: "For all the respectful words lavished on the Scots this week, once the game began it was clear that these two teams were on