Scotland versus Ireland; BT Murrayfield, Kick off 2:25PM. Live TV on RTE 2 from 1:30 and BBC 1 from 2PM. HD where available. Live radio on BBC 5Live Extra, BBC Radio Ulster and RTE Radio 1.
So this is it.
12 months. 12 long months comes to an end at 2:25PM in a field in Scotland, in a field in Edinburgh that is a long way from home.
But truth be known the wait is a lot longer for some of us. It comes with more than a penalty and a life’s efforts.
Those training sessions after school; those laps of the pitch and sit ups and tackle drills; those early Saturday mornings going back into school when everybody else was lying in bed,.
Those evenings bringing red carded teammates to disciplinary meetings.
Those days at the gym; those chicken breasts, the pasta lunches, those protein shakes, those pasta boxes.
Those wet Saturdays, those wet Sunday’s, those heavy defeats, those narrow wins.
Those mornings standing watching your son instead of getting the shopping and seeing Gran or attending to your other three children.
Those days when you'd close your eyes and hear Bill McClaren, the true voice of rugby, calling the game.
Those Sunday trips to far flung provincial clubs, those referee meetings, those long drives home.
Those missed dates, those missed parties, those missed nights out for fear or not playing tomorrow.
Those mornings at your local pitch putting out cones and filling water bottles for the Mini’s and kissing better bruised egos; those lifts to blitzes, chasing parents for subs, pumping size 3 balls, those trays of buns to sell afterwards.
Those evenings in your club house; those committee meetings, those money boxes, those washed jerseys and changing rooms after training; those nights volunteering behind the club bar.
Those 2 hours before games marking out the pitch, erecting flags and wrapping the goal posts, running out with the first aid kit, taking in the posts, putting them all away.
Those club raffles, those team dinners, those trays of sandwiches you made for after the game, those debenture tickets that you hid from the wife.
Those memories. Those BOD hat tricks, those Ringland tries, those Moss Keane tackles, those wallopings in Parc de Prince, those missed tackles in 1991 after Hamilton scored; those shattered dreams.
Those away trips, those hangovers, those singalongs, those tall tales.
Those 3 months off work after yet another injury, the agony of waiting to play again; those painkillers to get you by for one more game, those tubes of Deep Heat, those ice baths; those players who end up injuring themselves to the point that they never play again.
All of us have given to the game here; some more than and some less than others. And yet for all that we’ve given so too have todays starting 15; it gives back maybe a bit more. And for what we gave to rugby the Six Nations gives back tenfold to us this Saturday.
To you .
To me.
To rugby.
To Ireland. Shoulder to shoulder.
To us.
Introduction.
Both teams are coming into this game on the back of an excellent Autumn series. In Ireland’s case the victory over New Zealand in Chicago was topped with a well deserved victory at home to Australia. In Scotland’s case, another close run defeat to Australia was a highlight of Vern Cotter’s tenure as coach. As well, both nations have clubs who are performing well, thus making for a healthier player profile as well.
So the teams…..
Analysis. Ireland’s biggest news is the non availability of out half Jonathan Sexton. While this is undoubtedly a downer it needs to be borne in mind that he has been injury prone in the last 2 years and has missed a lot of playing time. Accordingly, his absence is not as much of a shock to the Irish team as one would casually assume it to be.
A potential weakness is the Irish full back line. The presence of Zebo on the wing is a plus for Rob Kearney, who has missed a lot of game time in the last year and for the NZ test, was almost looked upon as a last resort for the 15 jersey. His match sharpness could be an issue and he is likely to be tested by fly half Finn Russell’s (below) short kicks. The hosts boast a strong back division with Greg Laidlow captaining from scrum hall, Stuart Hogg at the middle of a strong full back and Super 16 Huw Jones at outside centre. Their bench is a little less convincing though; Mark Bennett is no Tommy Bowe.
In the pack, credence needs to be given to the fact that Ian Henderson (Below) is preferred to Donnacha Ryan in the second row. This and how Sean O’Brien has been given the nod as well suggests a loose fast game around the park, one even that may push the home pack around at the breakdown. At the set piece the Grey brothers offer good ball and push while tight head Zander Ferguson will battle hard with Jack McGrath at the tight. There will be pressure on hooker Fraser Brown; any slip ups and Scotland will be punished.
Verdict. Scotland have really done well since 2013. They have played some excellent ball under Cotter but the fact that they can’t/won’t hold onto him is a kiss of death to their long term future. They are also living off the Glasgow factor or perhaps Glasgow living off of the Cotter Factor: who knows for sure but they both feed off of each other. Ireland have better depth and flair to call on, especially off the bench and we all know how crucial that is in the modern game. This should be plenty to wing it for the visitors but in a hard won way. I say an Ireland win in the 28-20 region, some Zebo magic and for a lack of atmosphere that not even this guy can chase away…
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