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Four talking points as Scotland prepare to get under Ireland's skin
By Bryn Palmer
Having said after Scotland’s opening victory over Italy that he didn’t anticipate making “too many changes” to face Ireland, Gregor Townsend still opted to tweak three of his starting line-up for the arrival of the defending champions on Sunday.
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If Rory Sutherland’s selection at loosehead prop, ending Pierre Schoeman’s run of 15 straight Six Nations starts in the No.1 jersey, suggests the Scots feel they can get some change out of the Irish scrum, Jack Dempsey’s return at No.8 also gives them a more potent ball-carrying threat in the back row.
The decision to start with Tom Jordan at inside centre, rather than his Glasgow team-mate Stafford McDowall, was another point of discussion when Townsend sat down with the media to discuss Sunday’s showdown at Murrayfield.
‘Proactive’ Jordan can ‘take on’ Irish and free up Russell to play his own game
Townsend recalled first becoming aware of Jordan’s talent when the head coach went to watch his eldest son Christian – a stand-off like his dad – playing for Ayrshire Bulls, where Jordan first pitched up in Scotland in 2019 and played outside Townsend Jr at 12.
“I was really impressed with him. He was a real proactive player, he was a carrier, he was brave in defence, and he took that onto his Glasgow pro career at 10, a position in which he really had to learn and refine his skills.”
Having looked to the manor born on his entry to Test rugby as a full-back, Townsend believes Jordan’s strengths will be fully utilised at 12, where he will get up and close and personal with Ireland’s go-to man for go-forward ball, Bundee Aki.
“I think he’ll get more opportunities to be physical at 12: there’s carries, there’s contact clears, a lot of defence, but we want him to play the same way, with the same mindset, that he’s shown at 10 and at 15 for us in November.
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“Fifteen was a position he hadn’t really played before and took to it so quickly, and that’s because he’s just playing freely with a mindset of ‘I’m going to take on the opposition’. Tom’s also got the recent experience of being a first receiver, and demanding that ball.”
That was evident in Scotland’s final try against Italy, when Jordan stepped in and called for the ball before firing out a superb pass for Huw Jones to complete his hat-trick. “That’s what we want from our players, being really proactive,” Townsend noted. “If they feel it’s on, they call for it, step up.”
The presence of Jordan, a fellow fly-half, at 12, may also give Finn Russell more reassurance to play his own natural game, after – by his own admission – a less than convincing performance against Italy.
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“Maybe in the first game of the campaign, there was that natural feeling of ‘I’ve got to organise things a bit more’, but we’ve got players in that backline who can certainly help share that responsibility. We want Finn and others just to play as freely as possible. Getting Finn on ball, making decisions instinctively, not being too worried about organising the attack, that’s what we want to see from him.”
O’Mahony may enjoy hammering the Scots – but beware his lineout banditry
Townsend was understandably reluctant to concur with the widespread impression that the Ireland v Scotland fixture has been accompanied by a heightened level of “needle” over the past few years, with Ireland seemingly taking great delight in rubbing Scottish noses in the dirt.
“I think it’s just the same as any other game,” the head coach said, not altogether convincingly, suggesting any animosity had been built up by the Irish media rather than the players themselves.
When it was put to him that Peter O’Mahony, in particular, seemed to reserve some of his feistiest performances for the Scots, Townsend preferred to dwell instead on the clear and present danger the recall of the 35-year-old back-row warrior presents to Scotland’s lineout in particular.
“Well I don’t think it’s exclusive to him – you see that with a number of their players,” he said. “That’s one reason they’ve been successful; they contest a lot of breakdowns, they are a physical team and we’re ready for that battle.
“Another thing is they’ve always gone for a tall number six or a very good line-out player. Ryan Baird has had that role, Tadhg Beirne had that role and this week Peter O’Mahony has got that role, so we know there’ll be a real challenge at line-out time as well.”
Scots will aim to make Ireland’s new ‘conductor’ as “uncomfortable as possible”
Sam Prendergast’s retention at No.10 for the visitors seemed to come as a surprise in some quarters, with Jack Crowley left kicking his heels on the bench despite an impressive contribution as a replacement in Ireland’s opening win over England.
But Townsend has been a fan of the 21-year-old since watching him dismantle a Scotland Under-20s side – featuring his other rugby-playing son Luke – in 2023.
“What a talent he is,” said the former fly-half. “I watched in admiration, but obviously a bit of disappointment, when they beat us by 80 points [82-7] a couple of years ago. I don’t think I’d seen a 10 play at that level of understanding of the game, understanding of defences and the skill to execute at such a young age; I thought he was exceptional.
“To now play for such quality sides like Leinster and Ireland – let’s call them top-two in the world at club and international level – and he’s been given that responsibility shows that he’s really impressed the Irish coaches.
“The way Ireland play in attack, they’re set up just to find out where the vulnerability is in the opposition defence. Johnny Sexton was brilliant at that – the conductor. It could be attacking this way because there’s a gap in the defence, or because we’ve got one more attacker that way, or they’ve got two front-rowers together. To process that information and to then execute, Sam has shown he’s got that ability.”
Not that Townsend will hope to see too much of it on Sunday.
“Our job is to make his life as uncomfortable as possible, to not give him any opportunity to see what the right option is in attack, to not give him any time on the ball, and to also involve him in the physical side of the game, where we get an opportunity to tackle him, or we get an opportunity to run at him.”
That record against Ireland does grate…
Scotland have ended many a sorry record against other Six Nations rivals during Townsend’s previous seven campaigns in the Championship: a first win at Twickenham for 38 years, a first win in Paris for 22 years, a first win in Cardiff for 22 years.
The eight years – and 10 matches – Scotland have gone winless against Ireland since their last victory in 2017 almost pale by comparison.
But given that was under Vern Cotter, a few months before Townsend took charge, and the Irish were opponents Scotland routinely beat for the majority of his own playing career in the 1990s, he wouldn’t be human if the current sequence didn’t bother him.
“Of course, because there’s competitiveness there,” Townsend said. “You want to beat every opposition. I have so much admiration for Ireland and Irish rugby. When I started at Glasgow, Leinster was a model for how to have success at club level for me – how they were able to produce consistent performances, no matter who was in the jersey.
“They’ve still shown that at club level, but they’ve shown that at national level too. Of course, you’d like to not lose, but there’s a reason they’ve been winning as well, not just against us, but against top teams. They are a quality, quality side and they’re in the top two in the world right now.”
Half of those 10 defeats – including two horror shows in the 2019 and 2023 World Cups – have been one-sided affairs, but a four-point loss at the end of last year’s Six Nations suggested the gap between the sides may be at least closing, if not bridged entirely.
If they can crack the code on Sunday, Scotland can start to be talked about as serious contenders, not that Townsend is distracted by such enticing possibilities.
“Our focus is not on outcomes, it’s on the process,” he said. “We know we’ll have to be better than we were last week. Obviously, Ireland are a better team – they’re one of the best teams in the world – so they’re going to test us in ways that maybe Italy weren’t able to.”
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Until Scotland ditch Townsend they will never win the games that matter.
O'Mahony had a terrible match against England last year in a high pressure situation.
I think he will perform today but if Ireland lose its probably his last International.