THE IDEA OF an ’80-minute performance’ is a little flawed given that Test-level opposition are always likely to have at least one purple patch within a game. Refereeing decisions or the simple bounce of a ball can also grapple momentum away from you.
Even still, Andy Farrell’s Ireland need to deliver something complete tomorrow against Scotland in the Six Nations as they look for their second win in the championship. Lose and Ireland will go into their final-round clash against England in Dublin facing the prospect of winning just one game in the Six Nations for the first time since 2013 when the Declan Kidney era came to an end.
To be fair, Ireland were under pressure to deliver against the Scots last December at the end of their Autumn Nations Cup campaign and came up trumps with a 31-16 victory that secured third place in that makeshift competition.
The Farrell era also started with a game against the Scots in Dublin back in February 2020 when Stuart Hogg infamously dropped the ball over the line as Ireland claimed a 19-12 success.
“They always seem pretty important against Scotland, don’t they?” said Farrell yesterday after confirming three changes to his starting team.
“The [2019] World Cup’s first game and then obviously the first time we played Scotland under my reign, etc., and we’re going into this game wanting a performance and a victory on the back of that.
“So look, it’s always pretty special playing against the Scots, and rightly so. It’s the rivalry isn’t it, and it’s what makes the Six Nations so special.
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“Like I have said over the course of this Six Nations, the want for a victory, all the different emotions that happen during the competition is the reason why we all love this game, this competition.”
The weather forecast for Edinburgh tomorrow has changed across the course of this week from wind and rain to sunny spells and back again. Farrell insisted yesterday that Ireland want to play and show their attacking ambition in dry conditions.
Ireland had a close scrape against the Scots last year. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
The selection of Jamison Gibson-Park ahead of Conor Murray, who is back from a hamstring injury but hasn’t played in five weeks so sits on the bench, means a more attacking ball-in-hand approach probably suits Ireland anyway.
Gibson-Park has box-kicked well in recent games and that will obviously be part of the Irish strategy, but a balanced approach would also see Farrell back his sniping and decision-making threat around the ruck, as well as bringing wings James Lowe and Keith Earls into play in better positions more often.
Scotland, of course, have their own lethal attacking threats in Stuart Hogg, Duhan van der Merwe, and the creative Finn Russell, meaning Ireland’s defence will need to be sharp. Farrell feels Ireland’s pack have a major part to play in controlling their influence.
“Like any game with top-class backs that are quite quick and dynamic in how they want to play the game – control the unpredictability, you have got to control the game up front, haven’t you? There is no doubt about that,” said Farrell.
“They will either play with their dinner suit on or not because of the speed of ball that they’ll require to be able to play into space.
“It’s up to us to make sure that we slow that ball down so that we can put some pressure on them ourselves.”