6 NATIONS TEST RUGBY: Scotland clash with Ireland

10.03.2012
Scotland v Ireland in Dublin (6 Nations)

Venue: Aviva Stadium

Referee: Christopher Pollock (New Zealand)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	PT
WALES	3	3	0	0	69	46	23	6
FRANCE	3	2	1	0	70	46	24	5
ENGLAND	3	2	0	1	44	40	4	4
IRELAND	3	1	1	1	50	30	30	3
SCOTLAND	3	0	0	3	36	63	-27	0
ITALY	3	0	0	3	37	91	-54	0

Preview
Ireland in theory are still in with a chance of winning this championship. Good performances against Italy and then a draw against France last weekend suggested this Irish side is beginning to make strides. They will need both France and Wales to lose this weekend for this to happen.

Scotland are just not in the hunt. Close but not close enough has been their lot so far in this championship. It looks likely that they will battle against Italy to avoid the wooden spoon. They are likely to come out fired up against their old foes Ireland. They sprung a surprise win against Ireland at Croke Park in 2010 and nobody would be surprised if they managed a win here Saturday.

Last Five Encounters
06.08.2011 Scotland 10-6 at Murrayfield (World Cup Warm Up)
27.02.2011 Ireland 21-18 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
20.03.2010 Scotland 23-20 in Dublin (6 Nations)
14.03.2009 Ireland 22-15 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
23.02.2008 Ireland 34-13 in Dublin (6 Nations)

Ireland Last Five
04.03.2012 v France D 17-17 in Paris (6 Nations)
25.02.2012 v Italy W 42-10 in Dublin (6 Nations)
05.02.2012 v Wales L 21-23 in Dublin (6 Nations)
11.09.2011 v USA W 22-10 in New Plymouth
17.09.2011 v Australia W 15-6 in Auckland

Scotland Last Five
26.02.2012 v France L 17-23 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
12.02.2012 v Wales L 13-27 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
04.02.2012 v England L 6-13 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
01.10.2011 v England L 12-16 in Auckland (World Cup, Pool B)
25.09.2011 v Argentina L 12-13 in Wellington (World Cup, Pool B)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Ireland 5th, Scotland 9th
Europe Table: Ireland 2nd, Scotland 5th

IRB Ranking Points
Ireland 80.30, Scotland 74.94

Prediction
Scotland will be a tough but Ireland have been playing so well of late they will win comfortably at home in the end. Ireland by 11 points

Teams

Scotland

15		Stuart Hogg	Glasgow Warriors
14		Lee Jones	Edinburgh Rugby
13		Nicholas De Luca	Edinburgh Rugby
12		Graeme Morrison	Glasgow Warriors
11		Shuan Lamont	Llanelly Scarlets, Wales
10		Greig Laidlaw	Edinburgh Rugby
9		Michael Blair	Edinburgh Rugby
8		David Denton	Edinburgh Rugby
7		Ross Rennie	Edinburgh Rugby
6		John Barclay	Glasgow Warriors
5		James Hamilton	Gloucester, England
4		Richard Gray	Glasgow Warriors
3		Geoffrey Cross	Edinburgh Rugby
2		Ross Ford (Capt)	Edinburgh Rugby
1		Allan Jacobson	Edinburgh Rugby
16		Scott Lawson	Gloucester Rugby
17		Euan Murray	Newcastle Falcons, England
18		Alastair Kellock	Glasgow Warriors
19		Richard Vernon	Sale Sharks
20		Christopher Cusiter	Glasgow Warriors
21		Ruaridh Jackson	Glasgow Warriors
22		Max Evans	Castres, France
		COACH: Andy Robinson

Ireland

15		Rob Kearney	Leinster
14		Tommy Bowe	Neath Swansea Ospreys, Wales
13		Keith Earls	Munster
12		Gordon D'Arcy	Leinster
11		Andrew Trimble	Ulster
10		Jonathan Sexton	Leinster
9		Eoin Reddan	Leinster
8		James Heaslip	Leinster
7		Stephen Ferris	Ulster
6		Peter O'Mahony	Munster
5		Donncha O'Callaghan	Munster
4		Donnacha Ryan	Munster
3		Michael Ross	Leinster
2		Rory Best (Capt.)	Ulster
1		Cian Healy	Leinster
16		Sean Cronin	Leinster
17		Thomas Court	Ulster
18		Michael McCarthy	Connacht
19		Shane Jennings	Leinster
20		Tomás O’Leary	Munster
21		Ronan O'Gara	Munster
22		Fergus McFadden	Leinster
		COACH: Declan Kidney