Key events
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
The last time Scotland beat Ireland, Donald Trump was championing a nationalist agenda from the White House, a generational quarterback was about to lead his team to Super Bowl glory and Timothée Chalamet was doing that big-eyed, softboy thing he does, which ist both incredibly endearing but also a little annoying.
Not much has changed since that heady day in Edinburgh when two late penalties from Greig Laidlaw saw Scotland pull off a stunning 27-22 win. And that’s the point. Because for all their huff and puff, for all their talk of combinations, superstars in the backline and the number of domestic titles some of their foreign-based players have collected, this contest is a rivalry in name only.
Ireland romped to a 22-7 win the last time they visited Murrayfield. They bagged a 27-24 win the time before that and a 22-13 victory the time before that. Over this period Ireland have won three Six Nations titles, two grand slams, have beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand, squared a series in South Africa and climbed to the number one ranking in the world. Scotland have promised much but failed to deliver.
But all runs have to end at some point and there’s every chance it happens today. Even without their injured captain, Sione Tuipulotu, Scotland have dazzlers who can turn games on their own. And Ireland are not quite the cohesive force they were a few years back and can be got at if their young flyhalves are forced to play off their heels.
The smart money is on another Irish win which would be their 11th in a row against Scotland, but don’t bet the farm on it.
Kick-off is at 3pm BST.
Teams and more updates to follow.
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