Ireland go into the final day of the Championship with an outside shot a winning a 3rd title under Andy Farrell and if you gave Farrell and his charges this news at full time in Paris they would have more than likely taken your hand off.
From a Scotland point of view they are in with a real chance of a first Championship since they won the last title of the 5 Nations era in 1999 after a terrific win over France in Murrayfield by 10 points 50-40.
Gregor Townsend knows his charges are in with a live chance and a first win in Dublin over Ireland since 2010 would aid that belief. There is a mental block for Scotland with Ireland since that afternoon in Croke Park, be it 6 Nations or 2 World Cup group games in the intervening 16 years.
They will need to overcome that and also deal with expectation from within Scotland through supporters and pundits who will most likely tell all who will listen that this is the golden chance they have waited for so even though it is a home game for Ireland all the pressure will be on the Scots and Ireland can just play their own game on Saturday.
Ireland have experience in these situations at International level where as Scotland will enter fresh territory with a live chance going into the last round for the 1st time in a long time.
Gregor Townsend is the only one in the Scottish set up who knows what winning a 5/6 Nations title feels like, yes some of his charges have won titles at club level but this one is different and even though the chances of either Scotland or Ireland winning the Championship are slim due to the fact that France hold a 2 point lead and will be on home soil facing England still smarting from the manner of the loss in Edinburgh.
The 6 Nations has thrown up several big results this season and has its stand out finish on “Super Saturday” where all 3 games will be played back to back starting with Ireland v Scotland in Dublin then Wales vs Italy and then it’s off to Paris for France vs England in “Le Crunch” and unfortunately for a number of well-known pundits it won’t be a coronation evening for England but they can still be a fly in the ointment in the quest at stopping France from taking a second straight title.
Ireland will know they have plenty to work on this week in the build up and will be hell bent on finishing the campaign in the best possible way in front of a home crowd. The chances of a title may be slim but while the flame still flickers there is always hope of a 3rd Championship in the reign of Andy Farrell.
Ireland’s set piece will face a stern examination from Scotland who may do something similar to Saturday vs France by bringing Zander Fagerson in late in the 1st half after Darcy Rae has done his bit in the opening 40 minutes.
At the breakdown Ireland will also need to be up to speed and cleaver in when they go after the Scots at the breakdown. In defence they will need to work hard and close off the space on the outside and not allow Scotland the time to get there offloading game going which means in turn they will move Ireland’s forwards all over the pitch.
It might take a while for Saturday’s game to get going but once it does I think supporters and pundits alike could be in for a cracking game and similar to 2015, you have 3 sides in with a real chance and all 3 can score tries both France and Scotland probably finding scores easier to come by and Ireland may have to throw the shackles off in an attacking sense and just play what’s in front of them. Saturday promises to be a special day for 1 side with the other two wishing and wondering what may have been.
It is perfectly set up so now it is over to all 6 teams but in particular the 3 with title aspirations to go out and see how they get on. Enjoy it because very rarely does Rugby Union serve up an exciting finish…..