Scotland lock Alastair Kellock has warned Ireland that the Scots will travel to Dublin this weekend determined to spoil the party in what will be the last six nations game at Croke Park.
The Irish are striving to end their three-year stay at the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association by landing their fifth Triple Crown in the last seven years.
But Scotland lock Kellock is just as desperate to help his own country upset the odds and claim the victory that would almost certainly spare them the wooden spoon.
“We’re not going over there to take part in any ceremonies, whether it’s the Triple Crown or whether it’s the last game at Croke Park,” the Glasgow captain said.
“We need to go over there and focus purely on ourselves and playing the best rugby that we can.
“In saying that, it’s a fantastic place to play. We play in some of the best arenas in the world in the six nations and it’s an opportunity to play in front of a huge crowd.
“It’s a game that as a player you want to give absolutely everything.”
While Ireland still have an outside chance of retaining their six nations crown, Scotland go into Saturday’s match having failed to win any of their four games played.
“We’ve been desperate to get the win all through the championship,” said Kellock, who insists Andy Robinson’s men are on the brink of turning encouraging performances into victories.
“We’ve given absolutely everything we can. We need to find the extras, work on them, and get that cutting edge. When we find that cutting edge, I think it’ll stay with us. It’s not an easy thing to put into a team but, once they’ve got it, it’s a difficult thing to take out a team.”
As well as overcoming their “white-line fever”, Scotland will need to cut out the needless penalties which have cost them just as dearly.
Defence coach Graham Steadman was scathing in his criticism of his side and Kellock had no complaints over the former Great Britain rugby league international’s assessment.
“It’s just got to be hammered and hammered and hammered again,” said the 28-year-old, who will earn his 25th cap – and first against Ireland – this weekend.
“It’s not just coming from the coaches. We’ve got to make sure we’re policing it ourselves. In saying that, an international game is full of pressure and, at times, you make bad decisions.
“We’ve got to make sure we keep them to a minimum and we’ve got to force the pressure on to the opposition so that they make bad decisions and they start making mistakes as well.”