David Corkery: Ireland bullied England when it mattered, they need to do the same to Scotland

Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland.

It is by far the coldest, darkest, and most miserable place that I’ve ever played international rugby. You’d always get a warm welcome from its inhabitants, but as a holiday destination, I’ll stick to the south of Spain or West Cork thank you.

Perhaps I feel this way because my win-to-loss ratio is not that great in Scotland’s capital. If there was ever a location for the subs and the supporters to wear a few extra layers of clothing, this is it.

On a positive note for those who will be attending, the forecast says there is only a small chance of rain. For those who are lucky enough to be running about on the pitch, they will have no excuses when the ball arrives in their direction and we should be treated to some expansive rugby.

Ireland and Scotland won their respective opening games last weekend. Scotland managed to see off the never-say-die Italians in a game that was tied 19-19 after 47 minutes, but Scotland pulled away and finished with five tries to the Italians’ one, which speaks volumes for the Scot’s ability to play sprawling rugby.

THREAT

Inside centre Huw Jones helped himself to a hat-trick, and were it not for some full-blooded defending by the Azzurri, he could have easily notched up another two. Winning 31-19, Gregor Townsend’s side played well enough to cause Ireland much concern. However, they also showed that they have a few weaknesses that can be targeted and exploited.

Probably Scotland’s most influential player Finn Russell is the kind of player who can either win a game or lose one and he fully deserves the attention he is given by every opposing team that he plays against.

Russell, who plays his rugby for Bath in the UK, is not afraid to step outside the box of conformity and look to implement the most outlandish of plays.

A former stone mason before playing professional rugby, the 32-year-old knows only too well what hard work is like and whether he is facing Sam Prendergast or Jack Crowley he must also be shepherded by one of Ireland’s loose forwards.

Just as England did against Prendergast in the first half of last week’s game, Ireland will need to shut down Russell, who is the life and soul of this Scottish side. Simply put, if Russell plays well Scotland play well.

Perhaps a few early visits from Bundee Aki hurtling down his defensive channel might shake him up a bit and he might think twice about looking to bamboozle Ireland’s defensive capabilities.

If he does have a weakness it would be in his defensive proficiencies and the more times Ireland force him to defend, the less time he will have to organise.

The last thing Ireland can afford to happen is for Scotland to reach the extremities of the pitch with the ball where the likes of powerhouse Duhanvan Der Merwe and speedster Darcy Craham will be waiting to deploy their own kind of lethal attacking qualities.

Up front they might not have the same kind of explosive power as England had last week, but what they do have is an abundance of experience and grunt that England were missing when they needed it the most.

It isn’t that often that you see an English side bullied around the pitch, but that’s exactly what Ireland did last week, especially in the second half and even more so when the Irish bench was deployed.

The news on Wednesday that Tadhg Furlong and Joe McCarthy remain out something we didn’t want to hear because I believe that Scotland will offer Ireland a sterner test up front.

On the flip side, it was great to learn that Finlay Bealham and Mack Hansen were both cleared for selection.

SPENT

Last week Jack Crowley and Dan Sheehan completely altered the direction of the game when they were launched from the bench, but at that point, England were a spent force and it was only a matter of time before Ireland could feast on the hard work that had taken place earlier in the tie.

I would like to think that Ireland’s bench is stronger this week and it is imperative that whoever starts works just as hard as the 15 who started last week did.

If Ireland can win the kick-and-chase battles and gain parity at the breakdown, we will win, but if their discipline is poor and they allow Scotland field position, this game could very well scupper everything.