Ireland v Scotland talking points: Andy Farrell's side must get over Grand Slam heartache

IRELAND host Scotland in the final game of their Six Nation’s campaign at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday looking to sign off their campaign with a victory that would rubberstamp their status as the top dogs in the northern hemisphere for another year, even if the shadow of disappointment from last week’s defeat to England remains.

Grand Slam bubble burst

Marcus Smith’s point-blank drop goal ended Ireland’s hopes of winning back-to-back Grand Slams last Saturday at Twickenham, and while Ireland can have no complaints with the result, they have to bury the disappointment of it instantly, as there is still a championship to play for this weekend against Gregor Townsend’s Scotland.

There is no point denying that everyone was expecting the Grand Slam to be secured, even if history warned us that it would not be easy. We even claimed on these pages after beating France in Round 1 that it was Grand Slam or nothing now.

That statement still rings true, as even if Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony lifts the Six Nations trophy on Saturday, the moment will not be without regret.

Ultimately, a 16th championship in Ireland’s history is still to play for, and Andy Farrell and his side will be very keen to get back on the winning horse with immediate effect.

Scotland on the ropes

Ireland are not the only side to have spent this week licking their wounds, with Scotland in the horrors after their 31-29 defeat to Italy in Rome last Saturday.

Still, strange as it may sound, despite losses to France and Italy, Scotland are still in the running for what would be one of the unlikeliest of Triple Crown wins in rugby history, should they emerge victorious tomorrow.

They just about held on against Wales in Round 1 when they went from leading 27-0 to winning by a single point, and in Round 3 they came from 10-0 down early on at Murrayfield to dismantle Steve Borthwick’s England, thanks to a stunning Duhan van der Merwe hat-trick in the space of 25 minutes.

Considering they have not won a Triple Crown since 1990 you would expect them to be really targeting this fixture, even if the gloss of the achievement is not what it used to be.

The Scots are the proverbial confidence team.

If they run up a head of steam and the passes start sticking then they can cut any team apart, and Ireland will be keen not to be dominated in the set pieces in the manner in which they were at Twickenham, as that would give the likes of Finn Russell, Huw Jones and van der Merwe the platform do wreak havoc.

The Irish defence suffered a bit of a bloody nose last Saturday when shipping three tries in this competition for the first time since conceding three to Scotland in Murrayfield three years ago.

It goes without saying that defensive coach Simon Easterby will have his charges extremely motivated to avoid a repeat on Saturday.

Championship decider

Ireland could actually win the Six Nations title tomorrow in defeat.

Technically, both Scotland and France can catch Ireland on points, but given that teams that are level on points are separated by points difference, Ireland cannot be caught by those two nations.

Ireland are on 16 points, while Scotland and France are on 11. If Ireland were to remain on 16 and either, or both, of those countries got to 16, then Ireland’s +80 points difference will see them ahead, as Scotland and France both have +4 points differences.

England have 12 points, and are Ireland’s only threat, as they can technically get to 17 points if they managed a bonus-point victory in Lyon. Their points difference of -3 means that even a losing bonus point would see Ireland home and hosed as champions though.

But, that is hardly the kind of result that would be conducive to a St Patrick’s weekend Six Nations celebration.

Andy Farrell’s side are going to be focused on brushing off last week’s reversal and getting back to winning ways, which will demonstrate just what worthy winners of the competition they are.

It’s just a pity they were not able to bag the big fish.