Scotland v Ireland (pre/during/post thread)

If there was a website about this fixture, and it’s importance in the greater scheme of the 2009 Six Nations championship, it would be www.bananaskin.com.

The pitfalls of playing a somewhat resurgent Scottish team in their own backyard are well documented, and certainly this is probably the one place where an upset is most conceivable. After scraping though, albeit deservedly, against a tough English side who did themselves no favours in the sinbin and were the lucky beneficiaries of a Ronan O’Gara off-day, Ireland travel to Edinburgh with the sort of quiet confidence that hasn’t been in the camp in several years.

An opening win against a strong French side (who subsequently see-sawed themselves though the following two matches), followed by a cursory dismissal of Italy, set the stage for a massive clash against the old enemy. England were on somewhat of a resurgence after an unconvincing opening day performance was followed up by a big improvement in Cardiff, and when Ireland sent them back to Blighty and improving to 3-for-3, there were nervous whispers of a first G**** S*** since 1948.

Gordon Darcy is pushing hard for selection in the starting XV after a good performance for Leinster in Swansea at the weekend, and equally Rory Best is no more than a shade outside the starting hooker role, with consistent performances for Ulster. While Paddy Wallace and Jerry Flannery have performed very well, it’s a matter of taste at this stage who will get the nod. Knee-jerk reaction calling for O’Gara’s head after an admittedly poor performance against England is unwarranted, and I fully expect him to return to his usual high standard with a big performance on Saturday.

Kidney is renowned for not giving away an inch to the press, and as is to be expected no-one really knows what the team announcement tomorrow will say. Some schools of thought point to the Welsh model of wholesale changes and rest players, although this is highly unlikely given Kidney’s track-record, while others question the sanity of changing a winning team. At most, there may be a couple of changes, but I’d be surprised to see any changes in personnel across the 22, save perhaps for someone on the bench. The impact of the bench, especially Stringer and D’arcy is well documented at this stage, and could provide vital impetus should Ireland need to break the game open at some stage of the afternoon.

The Scots are coming off a somewhat comfortable win against Italy, and are finding a decent few players in the back line in Max and Thom Evans. The trusty boot of Chris Patterson is always worth a few points, and the Irish pack with have to be very disciplined and not give away too many kickable penalties, as they will be punished on the scoreboard. Expect to see a fair bit of running rugby, and depending on the weather forecast, we hope not to see a brand of foot-tennis that at times tarnished the match in Croke Park two weeks ago. The Irish backline will be relying on the pack and the scrumhalf to secure and supply quality, go forward ball to make inroads into the Scottish defence, and the second consecutive matchup between the Irish team and a former defensive coach should be interesting.

Despite the Scots improvements since their first outing against Wales, Ireland should have more than enough guile and ability to secure a fourth win in a row and move to Cardiff with the 100% record intact. It won’t be easy, but we’ll be looking to senior players to call on experience and leadership skills as there will be moments when it will be difficult. Ronan O’Gara will also be expected to improve dramatically, and I fully expect him to. Don’t expect a walk in the park, but Ireland have enough in all areas of the game, including the management, to see off the Scots. There’s too much experience in the dressing room to be complacent, and I see Ireland winning by 10-15.

Scotland 13 Ireland 27?