Short of thumping the top table in front of him, the Scotland captain, Jamie Ritchie, could not have made his point any more forcibly. “We’re not going to die wondering,” emphasised Ritchie, when asked how his side planned to knock over Ireland in this weekend’s make-or-break Pool B fixture. “We’ve got to fire every bullet in our gun and play our best game. I know that if we put out our best performance we’re in with a shot.”
Just a few moments earlier, his head coach, Gregor Townsend, had sounded equally bullish after his side’s relocation from Nice to the suburbs of Paris prior to Saturday night’s showdown with the world’s No 1 ranked side. “The players have performed in massive games before when we were underdogs. We believe we’re there mentally, physically and as a group … they’re ready to play their best rugby.”
Scotland, in short, know they have no option but to aim high and block out the loud roar of history. Blue has not been the colour in this fixture since 2017, the winner’s circle an endless sea of green. The last time the two sides met at a World Cup, in 2019 in Yokohama, the final score was Ireland 27 Scotland 3. Scotland have not strung together consecutive wins in this fixture since the late 1990s.
But eight successive Irish wins, in a curious way, has already crafted Townsend’s pre-match speech for him. All he now wants is for his side to play up to the standard that has elevated them to fifth in the world rankings, instead of living down to other people’s expectations. “We’ve broken records before … winning in Paris, winning in Twickenham [after] not beating England for a few years,” stressed Townsend. “This is another opportunity for them to break a record.”
Having named a familiar-looking side most notable for the return of the experienced Ali Price at scrum-half in place of Ben White, Townsend knows perfectly well there is no safety net available. His team will be heading home if they fall short of the required equation, the most basic being the need to win by eight points or more and deny Ireland a bonus point.
After that it gets more complicated but Townsend has made clear the first priority is to win. Buccaneering spirit did not get them far against South Africa in their opening pool game when they were beaten 18-3 but at least they learned a few salutory lessons. That day they put virtually all their eggs in Finn Russell’s basket, only to see their fly-half repeatedly munched by the Boks’ blitz defence. This time they will look to vary the point of attack slightly more and release the line-breaking talents of Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn – winning his 50th cap – to greater effect.
The theory is that Price will assist this process. He is in good form, knows Russell well and the hope is that his passing accuracy might help to unlock an Irish defence against whom every half-chance simply must be taken.
Equally, though, Scotland will need to be physical and clinical enough to stay in the fight and have picked a 6-2 bench with that intention in mind. If it is rough on the estimable Hamish Watson, the inclusion of the combative Luke Crosbie in the matchday 23 is another indication that Scotland do not intend to lie down meekly.
If you listen to the former Ireland lock Jean Kleyn, now back in the fold with his native South Africa, it will make for a feisty occasion as well as a high-profile one. “There’s a little bit of animosity between the Irish and the Scots and there always has been, especially from a rugby perspective,” suggested Kleyn, whose time in the Munster dressing room was clearly an educational one.
“At club level, you look at teams like Munster and Glasgow and there’s always been this underlying … I wouldn’t call it hatred but there’s a little bit of knife in the back. For Ireland and Scotland it’s even more so. Everything’s a little bit closer to the bone and everything’s a little bit more real. I think it’s going to be a serious match.”
If events go completely bonkers there is even a faint chance of South Africa being knocked out should both sides secure a try bonus point and Ireland lose by at least 21 points. If that sounds improbable, Scotland will be giving it the whole kitchen, never mind the sink. “We definitely want to be the team that goes out there fearless with nothing to lose,” reiterated Townsend. Whatever the outcome, it is unlikely to be dull.
Scotland Kinghorn; Graham, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe; Russell, Price; Schoeman, Turner, Z Fagerson, R Gray, Gilchrist, Ritchie (capt), Darge, Dempsey. Replacements: Ashman, Sutherland, Nel, Cummings, M Fagerson, Crosbie, Horne, Smith.
