{"id":336446,"date":"2026-03-09T05:45:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T05:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/336446\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T05:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T05:45:11","slug":"unconvinced-irish-pundits-offer-one-telling-concession-to-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/336446\/","title":{"rendered":"Unconvinced Irish pundits offer one telling concession to Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While Irish television pundits welcomed Scotland\u2019s spectacular win over France<\/a> they remained far from convinced it signals a genuine shift in the balance of power ahead of next weekend\u2019s decisive clash in Dublin.<\/p>\n

The panel on Virgin Media Sport acknowledged the Scots had produced one of their finest performances of the modern era at Murrayfield, yet doubts linger about whether Gregor Townsend\u2019s side can replicate that level when it matters most.<\/p>\n

One admission was unavoidable though: this time it does feel different.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I still fancy our chances,\u201d said Ian Madigan. \u201cI think our record over the last 11 or 12 games speaks for itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey talked themselves up back in the 2023 World Cup. We put out our best side against them and blew them away. They\u2019ve had lots of opportunities. You think back to when we had the injury crisis, the red card, and we still found a way to beat them in Murrayfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when the Scots get confident, that\u2019s when they\u2019re their own worst enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet there was also recognition that this Scotland<\/a> side might be building something different.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does feel different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The panel also pointed to the tactical clarity behind Scotland\u2019s dismantling of France.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the strategy, Andrew [Trimble] touched on it. Their kick strategy today, they didn\u2019t give the French any access. Their breakdown work, they\u2019re the two areas that the French thrive on. Being able to turn the ball over, move the ball at speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Scots were incredible in those areas and that was the foundation for their game, which we know their backline is their strength, moving the ball to width.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw the likes of Kyle Steyn. He was exceptional again today, arguably the player of the tournament so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to pose a real threat to us. They\u2019ll be looking at how we defended last night and asking can they test the Irish defence in the wide channels. We are showing some vulnerabilities there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Scottish scrum was strong today. Our [Ireland\u2019s] scrum has struggled throughout the competition. So it is going to be a fierce contest, but it is a home game for us. I\u2019d still be confident that we can win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew Trimble was less than totally convinced.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou asked does it not feel different this year because if Scotland had beaten Italy<\/a> in the first round that demonstrates the position they would be in. The fact that they got beaten by Italy demonstrates why it\u2019s not different, because this is the Scotland that we\u2019ve known for so long.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have those highs. Their ceiling is so high, but there\u2019s a lack of consistency with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, this is the most compelling version of Scotland. That was, as Kearns [Rob Kearney] has said, probably the best Scottish performance we\u2019ve ever seen. But how often do we see them get to that height, or close to that height, and then back it up the week after?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw them against England<\/a> and then we thought they dropped off a little bit against Wales. Granted, there\u2019s context there around Wales.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you beat them 11 years in a row it feels like if there\u2019s anything in the balance it goes our way. There\u2019s a mental hang-up there. There\u2019s a hex and we have the beating of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, it does feel like a real live threat, but it has felt like that in the past and that\u2019s what has brought the best out of the Irish team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob Kearney agreed that Scotland\u2019s current form cannot be dismissed outright, even if past experience urges caution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if you\u2019re looking at the hard light of day, you\u2019d have to say this does feel a little bit different.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Ireland<\/a> and British & Irish Lions<\/a> full-back believes Scotland playing \u2018rotten\u2019 in Dublin is still a very real possibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if they came to Dublin next week and produced a shocking performance, they didn\u2019t fire a shot, we\u2019d still be sitting here saying: same old Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve done it so many times before,\u201d said Kearney. \u201cWe have definitely flip-flopped on the Irish performances over the last number of rounds. But if Scotland come to Dublin with that level of performance next week, we\u2019ll get a real good test.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While Irish television pundits welcomed Scotland\u2019s spectacular win over France they remained far from convinced it signals a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336447,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-336446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}