Andy Robinson finally got the Six Nations win he was craving after his Scotland team won 23-20 in Dublin.

"It feels really good. The guys have worked hard all year," said the head coach after Dan Parks' penalty meant Scotland avoided the Wooden Spoon.

"We got a bit of luck at the end of the game - a penalty near their line and Dan kicked a great kick.

"The endeavour, the way we have tried to play this season, the guys deserve the plaudits after today's win."

Robinson had urged his side to be more ruthless at Croke Park after their 15-15 draw in the Calcutta Cup last week and having been narrowly beaten by Wales and Italy earlier in the Six Nations.

And things were looking good for the Scots at half-time, a 14-7 advantage the result of a Johnnie Beattie try and fine kicking by Parks.

But as the match entered the last two minutes, the Irish, playing their last match at Croke Park, and Scotland were tied at 20 points apiece.

Scotland won a penalty when Rob Kearney was put under pressure by Simon Danielli and Nick de Luca.

Parks kept his cool, ignoring the booing by many of the home fans, to despatch the kick from far out on the left flank.

Man-of-the-match Parks, of Glasgow Warriors, said afterwards: "It was great for me because I knew it was going through.

"The crowd obviously want their team to win and they'll do anything they can to put you off."

And the fly-half, who had walked the pitch before the match to get a feel for the wind direction, added: "I knew if I hit it perfectly, it would go through, and I hit it perfectly."

After a cruel defeat in Cardiff, where some late errors of judgement resulted in Shane Williams crossing the line for a last-gasp try, Robinson was relieved that a late score had gone in his favour.

"You make your own luck and I am really pleased at how the team approached the game," said Robinson, who came into the job after his predecessor Frank Hadden was sacked following disappointing results in the Six Nations.

"It went to the wire. We had a couple of chances, we scored a try - it makes a real difference, because you get five points.

"We kept our composure right through to the end and that last scrum was really good.

"I was really pleased with the set piece. We put the Irish line under some pressure. Ireland played really well at the start and I thought at one stage it was going to be a 30-pointer, but we held in.

"We got some pace to the game and performed really well."

The narrow victory denied Ireland the Triple Crown and meant Scotland avoided the ignominy of finishing bottom of the table.

That honour falls to Italy, who went down 33-10 to Wales.

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