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Scotland bid to keep Six Nations title hopes alive against Ireland
EDINBURGH, March 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Scotland will be seeking to keep
their Six Nations title hopes alive when they host Ireland at Murrayfield on
Sunday.
AFP Sports picks out three talking points as Gregor Townsend’s men look to
snap a run of five straight defeats against the Irish.
Russell magic
Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell and captain Johnny Sexton agree this
is the best Scotland side for two decades and Finn Russell is the main
threat.
Adding spice to the encounter in Edinburgh is that both Russell and Sexton
are competing for a spot on the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
“He (Russell) is obviously a big threat for us, knowing he has a full box
of tricks he tries to pull out in most games,” said Sexton.
“He is a threat to the line and has a good short kicking game, he can pull
the strings if we let him.” Ireland head coach Andy Farrell wants two wins
from their final two games, the last one at home to England next week, after
two defeats in their three matches so far.
However, he knows that to achieve his first goal of beating Scotland his
men must stop Russell and captain Stuart Hogg dictating play.
Gibson-Park threatens Sexton-Murray axis
Johnny Sexton remains the undisputed first-choice fly-half for Ireland but
it appears long-time half-back partner Conor Murray is no longer an automatic
pick.
Sexton’s Leinster team-mate Jamison Gibson-Park starts in the Scottish
capital even though Murray is fit again after missing the previous two games
due to a hamstring problem.
The New Zealand-born Gibson-Park could be faulted for France’s first try in
Ireland’s 15-13 defeat last month but Garry Ringrose praised his speed of
delivery in the 48-10 thumping of Italy.
Farrell said 29-year-old Gibson-Park had brought a lot to the team since
his debut in October.
“He brings tempo and a little bit of off-the-cuff-type feel to the game,”
said Farrell. “He plays what’s in front of him. He is dynamic, he has good
footwork and he can ask questions of any type of defence.
“And his game control is pretty good on the back of that so it is a nice
package to have.”
Home comforts?
Scotland will start as favourites on Sunday after impressive performances
in the two matches so far — a shock win against England and a narrow loss to
Wales.
But they have not played for a month after their match against France was
postponed following a coronavirus outbreak in the French camp.
Former Ireland fly-half Tony Ward believes this will give Farrell’s team
hope as Scotland could be rusty.
“The game against the Italians, no matter what you say about the level of
opponent, is much better than a training session so that is a definite
advantage,” he told AFP.
And home advantage is less of a factor this year due to the absence of
crowds as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.
The Scots have recorded their first win at Twickenham since 1983, France
won in Dublin in the Six Nations for the first time in a decade and Wales
beat the Scots at Murrayfield.
“As we have seen with Liverpool losing six on the bounce at home, if anyone
tried to convince me that the crowd not being there plays no role they are in
cloud cuckoo land,” said Ward.
“Playing teams away is nowhere near as intimidating as before.”
BSS/AFP/GMR/1028 hrs