Gregor Townsend has kept the changes to a minimum for the challenge of Ireland, with Jack Dempsey and Jonny Gray coming into the starting team.
Scotland have never beaten Ireland in Townsend’s six years as head coach. His last success against them as part of the Scotland set-up was as an assistant to Andy Robinson at Croke Park in 2010.
The Scots play Ireland twice in 2023 – Sunday and a key World Cup pool game in Paris in the autumn. Here’s Townsend’s pre-match thoughts.
Dempsey’s inclusion
📰 Jack Dempsey handed first Guinness Six Nations start ⤵️
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) March 10, 2023
“It’s a little because of the Irish back row. But it’s more because of what Jack’s been doing off the bench and in training.
“He’s been really consistent in how he’s performed in training and he’s taken that into the bench. We feel that this is the right time to see this blend.
“They’re all ball carriers. Hamish (Watson) will have a big role to play in the last quarter of the game or longer potentially. We’re playing the top side in the world and the last 20 minutes is going to be very important.”
Getting over the hump of Ireland in 2023
“We’d love to get over (the hump), that’s for sure. We know playing Ireland is tough every year. The way they’ve kicked on and become the number one team in the world, it’s probably the toughest challenge you can get.
“I like to see it as an opportuntiy. We’ve got an opportunity to still be in the mix for the Championship jnext week, to pick up a Triple Crown and really further the confidence of this group.
“They’ve gone to England and France, two very strong teams, and done very well. To get the win now would be massive, for Scottish rugby and for this group, ahead of next week and ahead of the autumn.”
The Irish challenge
Our line up to face Scotland in Edinburgh! 😤#TeamOfUs | #GuinnessSixNations
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) March 10, 2023
“They are very consistent. They have a high level of game, a level of player. We know are going to test us through their attack, their defence and their contact area in particular, and through their set piece.
“if we don’t get close to our top performance then we’re not going to win at the weekend. But we believe we are building towards that performance. To do it we’ve got to make sure we start well.
“In the past (bad starts) has meant we’ve had to play really well to get back in. We’re going to have to play really well right from the beginning this time.”
Richie Gray’s importance in Grant Gilchrist’s absence
“Richie will be calling the lineouts this week. He hasn’t been doing that but he’s a very experienced player and he’s got someone he knows pretty well beside him, too.
“The lineout is going to challenged by Ireland. A couple of years ago Ireland did very well there against us. Last year we did really well against them over there.
“It will be constantly challenged, but we’re also going to take their lineout on, we’re going to take their scrum on and take them on with ball in hand and in defence.
“We now feel with our lineout experience, our weapons, that we can put them under pressure and Richie will be at the heart of that.”
Aiming for first Triple Crown in 33 years
The Triple Crown is still up for grabs for two nations this year.
Can @IrishRugby claim it again after winning it in 2022, or will @Scotlandteam raise it for the first time since 1990?#AwakenAnticipation pic.twitter.com/2L3J6nBEAk
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 28, 2023
“We know there is a triple crown at stake this week, but it wouldn’t be something we talk about going into a tournament.
“It’s something we’ve not had since 1990 which shows how tough it is to achieve. We would talk about it a lot more if we have it after Sunday afternoon.
“The goal is still winning the Championship. We could have been in a better position to do that, obviously by winning against France but even just by picking up bonus points.
“That was a big frustration out of what we believe was a performance that should have led us to a win. But we’ve still got a chance.”