Ireland and Scotland face off on Saturday in a game that could end up deciding the destination of this year’s Six Nations title.
The victors will certainly claim the Triple Crown but, depending on the result between France and England later on Saturday, it could yet be that the victors will be crowned Six Nations champions.
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For Scotland, this is effectively uncharted territory.
Generations of Scottish players have passed through the ranks since their last title, which came in the final edition of the Five Nations in 1999.
Accustomed to being the butt of many jokes down through the years, Scotland now have a shot at their first ever piece of Six Nations silverware; and it could even end up being a title. However, they will have to get the better of a team who have consistently had their number for the best part of a decade if they want to achieve that.
Since Scotland beat Ireland at Murrayfield in 2017, the Irish have won every single meeting between the sides, including two World Cup pool stage victories. With an aggregate score of 287-133 in Ireland’s favour over that period, it has not even been a contest on many occasions against Scotland.
Despite that, Scotland star Darcy Graham has bullishly come out and said he believes Ireland are there “for the taking” ahead of Saturday’s clash.
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Darcy Graham throws opening jab
Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s clash with Ireland, Scotland’s record try-scorer Darcy Graham appeared to throw a dig at their opponents.
“I think they’re there for the taking,” Graham said of Ireland.
They’ve probably not been firing as well as they have in previous campaigns. They’re still a world-class team, and it’s a difficult place to go. I’ve never been there and won, and I can’t even remember the last time we won there. It’s been a long time. But our confidence is right up there. We’ll go there full guns blazing.
If these quotes find their way back to Ireland camp, you can guarantee they will be the first thing posted on the dressing room wall on Saturday afternoon.
It’s big talk from a team who’ve not beaten Ireland in the best part of a decade, but there’s no denying that Scotland have been in electric form in recent weeks.
Graham starred in their seven-try salvo against France last weekend, one of the greatest wins in Scotland’s modern history.
The Scots have more than recovered from a potentially disastrous opening-day defeat to Italy, and Graham says that confidence has never been higher.
We’ve built the confidence. Obviously, Italy put a downer on things, but if it had been a dry day, the game would have been totally different.
I think we trust in our ability to go out there and do what we do. Obviously, we’ve not done things quite right on the day against Italy, but I feel like we’ve done that for the next few games. Belief is right up there.
Confidence is the highest I’ve ever had in a Scotland campaign.
We’re set for a cracker in Dublin on Saturday, and the ante has just been upped by Darcy Graham.
Ireland v Scotland kicks off at 2:10pm in the Aviva Stadium, live on Virgin Media One and ITV.
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