Ireland vs. Scotland: Winners and Losers from 2016 RBS 6 Nations Clash

Ireland finished their 2016 RBS Six Nations campaign with back-to-back victories after collecting a 35-25 victory over Scotland in Dublin on Saturday.

A win most likely means Ireland will claim third place in the standings unless France can prevent England from clinching a Grand Slam triumph later on Saturday.

The hosts ran in four tries thanks to CJ Stander, Keith Earls, Conor Murray and Devin Toner, while Scotland's try-scorers were Stuart Hogg, Richie Gray and Alex Dunbar.

Read on as we run down the biggest winners and losers to emerge from the Dublin showdown, featuring a rejuvenated coach, an emerging Ireland superstar and more.

It's been an arduous campaign for Ireland and their kin, but after grunting through the first three rounds of the competition with defeats to England and France, as well as a Week 1 draw against Wales, they've managed to end things on a high.

For the reigning champions to stoop lower than third might have been considered a calamity, but after reassuring an Aviva Stadium crowd on Saturday, there's reason for Ireland to be hopeful again.

This summer's tour to South Africa has all of a sudden become a trip of major significance, and the wave of new players fighting for places in coach Joe Schmidt's squad will be baying for a spot on the plane over.

For so long, there's been all this chatter of "transition" and "change" for Ireland, but the time to embrace a new era is now, and the signs are finally appearing that suggest the team's slump may not last too long.

Scotland conceded a total of 19 points while reduced to 14 men on Saturday, leaking three tries to Ireland during the absences of John Barclay and midfielder Dunbar, sin-binned in the 24th and 67th minutes, respectively.

And it was Dunbar's yellow in particular that shocked the Aviva Stadium after the centre was blown up for flipping Johnny Sexton over his head in a wrestling-style manoeuvre at a ruck, as shown by ITV Rugby.

Tempers can indeed flare under match conditions, but that rush of blood to the head ultimately played a chief hand in Scotland's decline, as did the 12 turnovers conceded by the away team—Ireland conceded half that.

Coach Schmidt has fallen for some criticism during this year's tournament, after Ireland failed to clinch victory in their first three games. But a finish of two wins and 13 tries scored in those two games shows improvement.

Another well-chronicled topic around the Ireland camp in relation to Schmidt is his apparent disdain for offload rugby, and yet the team appeared to thrive in certain passages utilising exactly that style against Scotland.

It's often said that failure plays a crucial role in attaining success, and Schmidt would appear to have responded well to earlier disappointments, leading this Ireland team to a fancied finished in Dublin.

Ireland may never have been expected to successfully defend their title in this year's championship, but at least Schmidt's reaction and improvement means the tournament wasn't a complete whitewash.

There was a host of stars who stood out for Ireland on Saturday and indeed throughout this Six Nations, but spare a thought for Simon Zebo, who has somehow finished the tournament without a single try to his name.

Once just a mere stand-in for Rob Kearney, the regular full-back may find he has a struggle on his hands wresting the No. 15 jersey back from Munster marvel Zebo following a string of dazzling performances.

Zebo and Kearney are two different sides of the full-back coin, with the latter offering defensive security and an aerial presence that can rarely be matched, while the former is a sleuth-like carrier as elusive as they come.

If excitement is what Schmidt wants—and it most likely isn't—Zebo may be his full-back choice for the future, and he was terribly unlucky not to cross the line for even a single score throughout the competition.

For all the drawbacks of Ireland's Six Nations campaign, the emergence of Saturday try-scorer Stander as a potential mainstay of the international team has been an enjoyable development for fans to see.

The South African-born back-rower again extended his reach (quite literally) on Saturday as he leaped over for a crucially timed try to get Ireland on the board, and he's looking increasingly comfortable in the XV.

Jamie Heaslip was a deserved man of the match on Saturday, but that was a rarely inspirational performance from the Leinster figure after what's been a period of decline that many would find difficult to deny.

If Heaslip can continue to conjure up those kinds of performances in future, he'll remain a firm part of Schmidt's XV. But Stander is breathing down his neck for a place at blind side or No. 8—he's effective wherever he's placed.